As soon as (master musician, Country music legend, and current member of The Eagles) Vince Gill took the stage of Whitney Hall at Kentucky Center for Performing Arts for a Saturday night romp with his superb 8-piece backing band, it was clear that this was going to be a long, fun ride.
Evoking his iconic guest appearances on “Hee Haw,” Gill turned on the charm straightaway with self-deprecating reflections and humorous stories from his marriage to (“that Christian singer”) Amy Grant and his long and winding musical journey that actually began in earnest right here in Louisville. In fact, over the course of the evening, the Oklahoma native made several endearing references to that era when he had first landed in town straight out of high school, “renting a $15/month attic space” from Harry Bickel in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. Gill noted that it was during his Kentucky residency that he really cut his teeth as a picker and forged some rather important lifelong friendships in the process (e.g. Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs, and Harry Sparks). He also joked that it was a huge relief when he eventually moved on and broke through as a solo artist in Nashville so that he could finally stop functioning as a “nonprofit.”
Whether singing signature hits such as “One More Last Chance,” “Look at Us,” and “When I Call Your Name,” or personally meaningful covers like Merle Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down” and Buck Owens’ “Together Again,” Gill’s soothing tenor was spot on and downright delightful throughout the performance. And, as one might expect, the musicianship was second to none. When it was all said and done, Gill had delivered no less than 38 tasty tunes before taking his final bow, leaving the audience perfectly sated, sonically speaking.
