Urban Gives It All For The Hall

As I sat enjoying the wonderful Keith Urban "All for the Hall" benefit at Sommet Center in Nashville the other night, I wondered who else besides Keith could pull off such an extravaganza. The answer is no one. Well, no one and Vince Gill, who was there along side Keith.

It's not just the matter of asking your friends and peers to show up—Keith recruited acts that had opened for him in recent years and also dipped into the friendship well with Faith Hill and guitar buddy Brad Paisley—but it's also about having the grace and humility to then support them as part of their backing band. Who does that?

Jason Aldean, Little Big Town, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, plus the aforementioned Ms. Hill backed by Gill's band plus Vince, Keith and Dann Huff on guitar. Talk about lack of ego. I can't think of another current country superstar who would/could do it.

From where I sat, Keith looked like a kid in a candy story. He was just having fun.

The funny thing is that since I was young I always imagined being at a concert when a surprise guest came on stage (In my mind's eye it was usually Bruce Springsteen joining Michael Stanley, but that's just me). This wasn't quite like that—most of the acts were announced in advance: Dierks Bentley was the lone surprise— but it was close enough . . . hell, it was better. “I think this is officially one of the greatest open-mike nights we’ve ever seen in Nashville,” Urban said during an opening set that found him and his band as the opening act for the night.

The concert was such a success that Keith plans to do it again next year. By the way, the show was born out of Vince's call for country artists to donate one night's take to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Keith took that call to heart and Vince came to support his effort. Bravo.