Vince Gill Hits Home With 50th Anniversary Tour

A Vince Gill tour could kill a few trees with a three-hour+ setlist that’s as tall as a toddler.

Gill is currently on the road with his “50 Years From Home Tour,” which celebrates the five decades since he left Oklahoma to pursue a music career. It’s far from a farewell retrospective, but rather a career celebration at a point when Gill is still at the top of his game as a performer.

The tour has expanded considerably from the original 14 markets – including a six-night residency at the Ryman Auditorium – since it was announced in January with an additional 16 markets added to meet demand.

Fans are getting their money’s worth.

Gill opened a recent sold-out show at Tanger Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, with “One More Last Chance” and wrapped three hours later with “Liza Jane” – with no opening act and no intermission. In between, Gill used his golden jubilee as a framework for the songs people have known for decades as well as new music.

Throughout 2026, Gill is releasing a series of EPs called 50 Years From Home. In August, the series reached its ninth installment, Eighteen Summers. Gill performed music from the series including “A Mothers Prayer,” “When A Soldier Dies,” “Benny’s Song” and “Nobody Held Her Like Me,” which is about a guitar rather than a woman.

Gill’s affection for instruments was evident on stage. The simple backdrop was made up of pictures of guitars and a dobro featured on the covers of the 50 Years From Home EPs from Gill’s personal collection.

The images included a 1959 Fender Stratocaster that Gill bought from the son of Duane Eddy; a dobro Gill purchased from the late luthier and instrument dealer Harry Sparks; a Gibson J-200 guitar that was given to Gill by songwriter Paul Kennerly; a 1953 Fender Telecaster that Gill bought for $450 in 1978 from Del City Music in Oklahoma; a 1942 Martin D-28 Herringbone guitar purchased in 1975 and featured on the cover of EP 1, I Gave You Everything I Had; and a 1967 Gibson ES-335 that Gill’s parents bought him as a Christmas present when he was 10 years old. Gill played them throughout the show.

A musician’s musician, Gill isn’t touring with a stripped-down band. His current ensemble is an impressive group of Nashville’s top players including Wendy Moten (vocals), Jedd Hughes (guitar/vocals), John Jarvis (keyboards), Jeff White (guitar/vocals), John Meador (guitar/vocals), Jim “Moose” Brown (keyboards), Eddie Dunlap (steel guitar), Jimmie Lee Sloas (bass) and veteran drummer Billy Thomas. Fiddle player Stuart Duncan and guitarist/banjo maverick Charlie Worsham are also playing several dates.

During the show, Gill gave each of them ample time to stretch beyond the obligatory solo with full-fledged songs that demonstrated how each one could easily headline. Individual performances include Hughes on “Only Way To Fly,” White and Meador on the Bill Monroe classic “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and Moten’s breathtaking, blues-infused vocals on “Ode to Billie Jo.”

Even during the cast showcase, Gill never left the stage. An able sideman early in his career with Pure Prairie League and later The Cherry Bombs, Gill is clearly at ease providing musical backup while providing room for others to shine.

He’s one of those artists whose reputation among musicians is arguably even greater than his commercial reputation, which has been significant. Gill has sold more than 30 million records and released more than 20 albums, but it’s worth noting that he has appeared on more than 1,000 albums as a collaborator or sideman.

And then there’s the Eagles connection. Gill has been a touring member of the band since 2017, taking the place of Glenn Frey after Frey’s death in 2016. Gill wasn’t simply hired as a replacement guitarist sharing a stage with Don Henley and Joe Walsh. He sings many of Frey’s parts, including some of the band’s best-known songs, while also playing guitar and adding his own vocals. But the Eagles repertoire remains with the OG band and Gill stuck to his solo sojourn during the Tanger Center outing.  

That gives the current Gill tour an unusual dimension. Audiences are seeing a 22-time Grammy winner, Country Music Hall of Famer, CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award winner and elite guitarist who has spent nearly a decade playing at the highest level of arena/stadium rock with the Eagles, now back in an intimate theater setting where he can concentrate entirely on his own music.

As a solo act, since 2021, Gill has performed 511 shows with a gross of $67,977,651 and 1,146,883 tickets sold, according to Pollstar data.

The choice of venues seems intentional. Rather than primarily playing arenas, much of this tour is in historic theaters, performing arts centers and amphitheaters where intimacy fuels audience connection.

The consensus among fans who have seen Gill is that he is exceptionally good live right now. At no point during the show, did he appear to be “going through the motions.” At 68, Gill was remarkably engaged as a master performer and equally gifted storyteller talking about his heroes including songwriter Max D. Barnes, George Jones and Merle Haggard.

The tour does not appear to be constructed around an aging performer. It’s almost the opposite. Gill celebrates his longevity by demonstrating his undeniable strength as a singer, player and entertainer.

The near 40 song setlist includes “Take Your Memory With You,” “Pocket Full of Gold,” “High Lonesome Sound,” “When I Call Your Name,” “Never Knew Lonely,” “Young Man’s Town,” “If You Ever Have Forever in Mind,” “What the Cowgirls Do” and “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” which was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress.

A reflective thread runs through the night. Gill doesn’t present himself as someone looking backwards at his best days. It’s more, “I’ve learned how to do this better.”

Gill’s vocal style helps. He’s a tenor, but he’s never been dependent on the kind of vocal theatrics that require an artist to reproduce every note at maximum intensity. His voice is warm, conversational and extraordinarily controlled. And it’s gotten better with age.

The show feels more like a hangout rather than a tightly controlled production. Even at three+ hours, the extended instrumental sections and Gill’s narration keep it from becoming tedious.

Gill, who hosted the CMA Awards for 12 years, is naturally funny. He has a genuine gift for turning ordinary life and everyday observations into memorable stories, like John Prine or Tom T. Hall.

He doesn’t just move from song to song. The show’s structure gives him plenty of room to tell stories about the people, places and accidents that shaped his career including his decision to leave Oklahoma to become a professional musician.

And there’s a good bit of humor because Gill has always been somewhat self-deprecating about his career. At the half-way point in the evening, Gill explained why the show lasts as long as an NFL game.  

“I’ve been the opening act,” he told the audience. “And I thought, man, if I ever made it, I’d play as long as they let me”

And he proceeded to play for another 90 minutes.