Vince Gill performed an intimate concert last week for the Back in Class event at the site of his first stage performance, Cleveland Arts & Science Specialty School in Oklahoma City. This time, however, the country music star graced the stage to raise $100,000 to renovate the Oklahoma City public school’s auditorium, as well as receive the 2007 Oklahoman of the Year Award from Oklahoma Today magazine, the event sponsor. The concert was a far cry from his first effort when a seven-year-old Gill performed House of the Rising Sun.
“The real beauty of this event is that this is the first place I played guitar and sang in front of anybody of my whole life,” says Gill. “Even though it is nice to have a night to honor me, I’m coming home to do something for someone else and make it more than just about me.”
The auditorium—renamed Vince Gill Auditorium at a student assembly earlier in the day—provided just enough room on its stage to accommodate Gill, several guitars, speakers, and long-time Gill collaborator, keyboard player Pete Wasner. The venue was devoid of the glitz and glamour normally associated with a big headliner and instead was tenderly decorated in children’s artwork inspired by Gill and his music. The 1938-built school auditorium hosted a sold-out crowd of 228 concertgoers, each paying $495 per ticket with all proceeds going towards the auditorium renovation project. “When they told me the ticket charge, I nearly spit out my Ted’s Escondido (well-known eatery in Oklahoma City and a Gill favorite) meal,” says Gill.
Gill thrived in the elementary school environment, turning out a two-hour performance showcasing his extraordinary storytelling talent through music and personal anecdotes. Gill allowed the crowd to guide his set by taking requests directly from audience shout outs, a gathering that included Governor Brad Henry, Barry and Becky Switzer, Gill’s mother, Jerene, and sister Gina. Gill’s perfectly pitched tenor rang out over the guitar and keyboard accompaniment, with each song sounding as flawless as one of his studio recordings.
The audience cheered as Gill performed some of his greatest hits, including “When I Call Your Name,” “I Never Knew Lonely,” and “Oklahoma Borderline,” as well as new song about Route 66 set on Oklahoma City’s 39th Expressway stretch of the Mother Road. Gill told engaging stories of his Oklahoma childhood between songs, moving the audience to tear-jerking laughter with tales of his unfortunate encounter with an Oklahoma City bus driver and adventuresome driving lessons with his father. In a particularly heartwarming moment, Amy Grant, Gill’s wife and Christian recording artist, performed two songs while seated on the first row with daughter Corrina fast asleep on her lap.
