MUSIC ROW MAGAZINE: ALL FOR THE HALL BENEFIT WITH KEITH URBAN

Even the ushers were dancing in the aisle last night (10/13) as Keith Urban blazed through “Sweet Thing,” “Better Life,” and a slew of other hits during his We’re All For The Hall concert at the Sommet Center. He spearheaded the benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and recruited the stellar talent of Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town to join him. That line-up combined with tickets priced around $25 assured a sold-out event. Urban opened with his own set, including a pensive take on Dolly Parton’s “Coat Of Many Colors” which he said was an example of the kind of music that drew him to the United States from his homeland Down Under. The importance of preserving this kind of musical heritage was reiterated throughout the night. Urban’s first guest was Paisley for their hit “Start A Band” and by the end of the song the guitar heros were midway up opposite sides of the arena, jamming amidst a thrilled crowd. An unduly long intermission followed Urban’s set before a video featuring Gill, Dwight Yoakam, actor James Deaton, Emmylou Harris and Kara DioGuardi opened the second act. While most of the male performers showed up in standard pearl-button garb, Gill branched out, showing his hometown spirit in a Predators jersey. The longtime Hall of Fame advocate started the All For The Hall fundraising initiative a few years ago, suggesting that all artists donate just one night’s proceeds to the cause. Urban’s Capitol Nashville labelmates Little Big Town were in fine voice. From looks to talent, they have the potential to be one of the format’s biggest bands. Gill and Urban remained onstage as band members for the night, playing alongside A-list musicians including keyboardist John Hobbs, steel guitarist Paul Franklin and bassist Michael Rhodes. “It’s nice to see Keith Urban and Vince Gill came around and joined our band,” joked Lady Antebellum‘s Charles Kelley. Singer Hillary Scott was sporting darker than usual tresses and seemed plagued by sound problems. The group was great nonetheless on “Need You Now,” and “Run To You.” Faith Hill, Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley and Jason Aldean wowed the crowd with two songs apiece. Hill’s voice was spot-on for her early-career milestones “Piece of My Heart” and “Let Me Let Go.” Aldean’s huge recent hits “Big Green Tractor” and “She’s Country” show some serious career momentum. Urban told audience members that a remarkable number of artists requested to participate in the event and to mark their calendars for Oct. 5, 2010 for the second annual concert. Sponsors including Verizon and Ford pitched in for the event. Verizon also scrolled photos and text messages from audience members on in-house screens. The show was set to stream live on www.keithurban.net, www.VCASTLive.com and www.countrymusichalloffame.com. Source: Sarah Skates

ADDITIONAL NOTE (not included in original article) for more photos of the event please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/momentsbymoser/sets/72157622588505750/