SoundPress.net: All For The Hall Raises the Bar in Nashville

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All For The Hall Raises the Bar in Nashville

by Rich and Laura Lynch

All For The Hall was A Benefit Concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum that was held on Tuesday, December 05, 2023 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. This year's 8th edition of the event was spectacular as ever featuring a star-studded lineup that included Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn, Kelsea Ballerini, HARDY, Patty Loveless, The War and Treaty, Riley Green, Mickey Guyton, Stewarts Creek High School Senior Abigail Sowards and several surprise guests. Near the end of the two and a half hour long performance co-hosts Keith Urban and Vince Gill announced that this year's show raised more than $900,000 for the nonprofit museum's education programs - its highest amount tallied to date - bringing All For The Hall's total support to over $5 million dollars for the museum and its mission over the course of its history. Music City Nashville was on-hand to attend and these were some of our highlights:

All For The Hall Raises the Bar in Nashville

• During the concert, which was themed "The Song Remembers When," artists performed a song that defined a memorable moment in their life, in addition to one of their own songs. Keith Urban - recovering from a tough cold - gave us energized versions of his own "Wild Hearts" and "Blue Ain't Your Color". He then told a story describing that everything he learned about country music and life in these Southern United States America came from watching The Dukes of Hazzard as he closed his opening spotlight with the "Theme From the Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)".

• The always adorable Kelsea Ballerini had our attention early with "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)" - a song that she described as containing her most unhinged lyrics yet to date. She followed that with the more stable "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King that provided a fitting sentiment for the evening.

• Old Dominion came out swinging with their own "Memory Lane" proving why they just took home the ACM Award for Group of the Year for the sixth time in a row. More surprising was their convincing cover of Pearl Jam's "Alive" that the band said were a big influence on their rock side of things.

• "The Hall of Fame is a treasure," Trisha Yearwood told the sold-out crowd during her segment and she would know. The one-time tour guide for the Country Music Hall of Fame and an inductee herself owned the night as she performed the evening's theme "The Song Remembers When" and a celebratory version of Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" to an enthusiastic response from the appreciative Bridgestone audience.

• Rising star HARDY had an important message reminding everyone in attendance that the holidays can be stressful and that "we're all here and we're all lucky to be alive" before lightening up the mood with his fun takes on "Truck Bed" and "It's a Great Day to Be Alive". Vince Gill - as usual raised the bar high with "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away" before paying homage to his Eagles bandmate Joe Walsh with a respectable cover of his "Rocky Mountain Way".

• Patty Loveless - a newly minted member of the Country Music Hall of Fame - put her creds on display with a meaningful version of Jackie DeShannon's "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" and her own well-received 1993 Hot Country Songs top 20 hit "Nothin' But the Wheel" that had us all driving toward the finish line. But, we weren't quite finished yet.

• Country singer-songwriter ERNEST - born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee - looked right at home on the big arena stage. Especially when delivering a take on Merle Haggard's "That's The Way Love Goes" as a trio with the show's hosts Urban and Gill.

• Mickey Guyton, Riley Green and Brooks & Dunn were all thrilling in their own right. But, the biggest surprise of the night came when 78-year-old Brenda Lee came out to play her chart-topping Holiday Classic "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" that had just become this week her third No. 1 Hot 100 hit - 65 years after its initial release - thanks to a determined social media campaign.