Vince Gill looks on as Keith Urban announces a special benefit concert on October 13, 2009. Photo by Donn Jones, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Aug. 31, 2009 — We "can’t move [country music] forward unless we know where it’s come from." Keith Urban might be part of the current wave of pop- and rock-influenced country, but he certainly appreciates the genre’s past, and that’s why he’s assembled a host of top-name acts — including Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Faith Hill and Vince Gill — for an October concert that will raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The All For The Hall show, slated for Nashville’s Sommet Center on Oct. 13, will also feature Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town with other stars likely to be added. Tickets are an inexpensive $25 apiece, with most — if not all — of the cost to be donated to the Hall of Fame, located across the intersection from the Sommet.
"We want it full," Keith said during the official announcement Monday morning at the Hall’s Ford Theater. "Right now particularly it’s hard times for a lot of folks in this country — in some cases, some of the hardest they’ve ever known in their generation. So we tried to make this as affordable as we possibly could."
The All For The Hall program was created by Vince, who’s president of the museum’s board, in an effort to get the music community involved in raising funds for the organization that best preserves its heritage. Keith’s headlining date comes amidst a particularly strong period in the program. Vince, Emmylou Harris and Dwight Yoakam will perform a $750-a-ticket All For The Hall show Oct. 1 in Los Angeles. Museum executives also announced recently that Cindy Walker, a Hall of Fame songwriter, had bequeathed the rights to her songs to the Hall. New demos of some of her classics — which include "You Don’t Know Me," "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" and "I Don’t Care" — are being recorded to showcase the titles to the film and TV industries. Record producer Tony Brown will oversee some of the recordings beginning in September with Cyndi Thomson and songwriters Jon Randall ("Whiskey Lullaby"), Jessi Alexander ("The Climb") and Clint Daniels ("God Must Be Busy") among the vocalists who’ve been enlisted.
"This place houses the history of all this music from note one, [from] the very first records that the Carter Family made, Jimmie Rodgers made in the ‘20s up ‘til today," Vince said. "I hope the young people of today that are artists realize that every note of their music is being documented in the halls of this Hall of Fame just as importantly and as reverently as everybody that’s come before them."
"To have someone of Keith’s stature step up and do this today and who all he’s bringing to play in October is overwhelming to us," Vince added.
Keith’s Oct. 13 show will feature a truncated version of his typical set and will likely find Keith and Vince collaborating informally with the other guests. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. CT through Ticketmaster outlets and through the Sommet Center box office. In addition to the general admission tickets, the concert also offers 50 special packages priced from $1,000-$5,000 that feature a pair of tickets, admission to a post-show party and a bevy of Keith Urban memorabilia.
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