For many artists, five decades in music might be a reason to slow down. Vince Gill is using the milestone as motivation. As he prepares for his annual summer residency at the Ryman Auditorium July 30-Aug. 1 and Aug. 6-8, the Country Music Hall of Famer is also in the midst of a sweeping and ambitious career project.
50 Years From Home is a yearlong series of monthly EP releases celebrating 50 years as a recording artist. The project grew from Gill's realization that he had penned piles of new songs and that if he didn't act, no one would hear them.
"My heart tells me I'm writing better songs; my ears tell me I'm singing better," Gill said. "All this stuff is apparent to me. I've written 150 songs in the last two or three years, and I don't want to see them all sit in a desk drawer somewhere and never be heard."
The monthly releases have allowed Gill to consistently share his new material while offering listeners a stream of music showcasing the sonic range that has defined his career. Gill recorded the EPs in his Nashville home studio and enlisted a group of his frequent collaborators, including pedal steel great Paul Franklin, fellow guitarists Tom Bukovac, Jedd Hughes, and Jack Schneider, keyboardists John Jarvis and Gordon Mote, drummer/percussionist Fred Eltringham, Jimmie Lee Sloas on bass, and wife Amy Grant with daughters Jenny Gill and Corrina Gill singing background vocals.
Throughout the series, Gill dipped into the country, gospel, soul, and blues influences that have shaped his sound for decades.
"I've loved the soulful side of music forever, whether it's Ray Charles or Bruno Mars," he said. "George Jones was as soulful a singer as anybody who ever lived. I heard a lot of blues music from my big brother. I would hear Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, people like that. To me, in some ways, it's all blues. I'm just drawn to it."
David McClister
While the EP series gives fans an ongoing sonic view of Gill's recent creative output, Nashville audiences will have the opportunity to see the songs come to life during his annual late-summer return to the Ryman.
"Hands down, the Ryman is my favorite place I've ever played," he said. "Everything they do down there, I just always want to be a part of it. I love being on that stage, the history of it, and all that stuff. I've had some pretty amazing moments in that room."
Gill has more "amazing" rooms on his itinerary. Gill, who has played with The Eagles since 2017, will join the iconic band at their Sphere dates on Sept. 18-19 and Nov. 13, 14, 27, and 28. Gill will return to Ryman Auditorium with his wife, Amy Grant, for their annual Christmas at the Ryman shows in December.
"Those evenings are just us going back and forth," Grant said of their Christmas shows at the Ryman. "Vince makes everything sound fantastic."
"When you think about it, we've sung these songs now for decades, and that spirit of familiarity is in us," Gill added. "We heard all these songs growing up, but we've also sung them half our lives."
Fifty years into his career, Gill is still writing, recording, and releasing songs at a pace few of his peers would attempt. And he's still eager to see where the next chapter leads.
Chances are, it's back to the Ryman.