Amy Grant and Vince Gill will embark on a 15-date Christmas with Amy & Vince Tour Dec. 4, in Manchester, N.H., and bring it home Dec. 22 and 23 with two shows in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium.
“The job of spreading Christmas cheer simply has gotten too big for Santa and Rudolph to do alone,” Gill explains. “So, Amy and I are pitching in. Besides, these holiday tours have become our favorites.”
Grant agrees: “Christmas audiences are special. They tend to involve the whole family, and their emotions are a wonderful mix of anticipation and reverence. It’s a thrilling experience for both of us.”
In their two-hour program of cherished standards and newer seasonal fare, the Grammy-winning husband-and-wife team will be backed by a 12-piece band featureing a horn section and two harmony singers, one of whom is Gill’s daughter, Jenny. “Some of our earlier Christmas tours were with a symphony orchestra,” Gill said. “This time, though, we wanted to create more of an intimate, living room feel.” Plans are underway to work with local charities in order to give back to these communities.
On Sept. 30, Grant will release her first new Christmas album in nine years. The Christmas Collection is made up of selections from her three earlier Christmas CDs, plus four new tunes, including “Baby It’s Christmas,” a song Grant and Gill wrote together. Keeping with the festive mood, Grant will tape on Nov. 11 an NBC-TV special, Holiday Celebration on Ice. It co-stars Michael W. Smith and a corps of world-famous skating champions; the show will air Nov. 30.
One of the most beloved and respected performers in American music, Gill was inducted last year into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is a long-time member of the Grand Ole Opry and winner of 19 Grammy awards. Gill boasts three best-selling Christmas albums of his own: Let There Be Peace on Earth, Breath of Heaven and Christmas Collection.
The dates, cities and venues for Christmas with Amy & Vince are as follows:
Dec. 4 Manchester, NH/Verizon Wireless Arena
Dec. 5 Augusta, ME/Augusta Civic Center
Dec. 6 West Point, NY/Eisenhower Hall Theatre
Dec. 7 Mashantucket, CT/MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods
Dec. 10 Baltimore, MD/Lyric Opera House
Dec. 11 Albany, NY/Times Union Center
Dec. 12 Worcester, MA/DCU Center
Dec. 13 Elmira, NY/First Arena
Dec. 15 Atlanta, GA/Fox Theatre
Dec. 16 Charlotte, NC/Ovens Auditorium
Dec. 18 Grand Rapids, MI/Van Andel Arena
Dec. 19 St. Louis, MO/Scottrade Center
Dec. 20 Bloomington, IL/US Cellular Colliseum
Dec. 22 & 23 Nashville, TN/Ryman Auditorium
