Vince Gill will offer his fifth command performance Thursday at “A Song for the Children,” a fundraiser for the Children’s Advocacy Center.
VIP tickets to the show sold out two weeks ago, according to the agency’s external affairs coordinator, Cathy Eldahan. Those packages include a cocktail reception at Bessie Smith Hall, dinner provided by Carrabba’s Grill, shuttle transportation to the Tivoli and prime seating for the concert, then passes to a dessert reception after the show.
IF YOU GO* What: “A Song for the Children” with Vince Gill.* When: 8 p.m. Thursday.* Where: Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.* Admission: $30 and $35.* Phone: 642-TIXS.* Website: www.ChattanoogaOnStage.com.
“We don’t promote it because we don’t guarantee it, but he has come in [to the dessert reception] every year,” she said. “It’s a chance for folks to meet him and have their picture made with him.”
Proceeds from the show support the Children’s Advocacy Center, a private, nonprofit agency that works with children who are victims of abuse.
WHAT’S NEW FOR VINCE GILL?
1. He’ll soon have a new duet partner. At the 44th annual CMA Awards, airing Nov. 10 on ABC, he’ll sing with Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow on the title track from her new film, “Country Strong.” The soundtrack was released this week. The film opens in limited release Dec. 22.
2. He’s touring with wife Amy Grant in December. Their “12 Days of Christmas” show, which features seasonal favorites and both artists’ hits, includes stops at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Dec. 20 and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Dec. 21-22.
3. He’s now a full-time member of The Time Jumpers, a Western swing ensemble. “If you’d asked me if I’d ever join another band, I’d have said you’re crazy,” Gill told the CMA News Service earlier this year. “But what they do is so much fun. I grew up in Oklahoma, where Bob Wills was king, so the basis of their sound is in my blood. Really, it’s jazz with a country accent, like Count Basie with fiddles and a steel guitar.” Gill had been sitting in with the band since 2007 on some of its regular Monday night gigs at Nashville’s Station Inn. “I love what they do so much that when I had a Monday off, I would sneak down to the club to play a little guitar or mandolin with them,” Gill said. “Then they started calling me whenever one of their guitar players couldn’t make it. Now we’ve just kind of made it official.”