Vince Gill’s much-anticipated and heralded OKIE is released today. “OKIE is about truth—my truth,” comments Gill. “I don’t say this with judgement leveled in any particular direction, but truth is something that I feel is sorely lacking in our world. We tend to treat the symptoms and not the actual problem. Some of the topics are things society sometimes shies away from, but probably shouldn’t. I think that at age 62, the truth has taken on more vibrant colors for me.”
OKIE was co-produced by Gill and Justin Niebank. The most recent lyric video premiered earlier this week in Rolling Stone Country. “Nothin’ Like A Guy Clark Song” was written by Gill. “I loved Guy’s writing for the pictures the words painted. That is what I was most drawn to–because they reminded me of my life. This is just my way of telling my old pal that I miss him.”
Gill is set to perform one of the songs from OKIE, “Forever Changed,” on NBC’s Today Show on Tuesday, August 27. Later that day, he will perform an exclusive 60-minute set at the iHeartRadio Theater NY to celebrate the release of OKIE. iHeartCountry ICONS with Vince Gill is set to air at 7 PM ET and will be hosted by Cody Alan. Fans can tune into the live video stream of the performance and an exclusive Q&A session on LiveXLive, and the event will also broadcast live on iHeartMedia’s Classic Country and Mainstream Country stations at 7pm local time.
On September 9, Gill will join Ken Burns in conversation with fellow filmmakers Dayton Duncan and Julie Dunfey at the famed 92nd Street Y. The event will include a screening of selected clips from Burns’ upcoming PBS documentary, Country Music, and a performance and album signing by Gill, whose interviews feature prominently throughout the film. Gill will join Burns on a Today Show appearance to promote the film on September 10.
Gill recently spoke with Robin Young from NPR’s “Here & Now” and highlighted tracks from OKIE.
Gill is currently on a nationwide tour that kicked off August 7. In September, he’ll step back on stage with the Eagles for a 3-night stand at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where they will perform the band’s iconic Hotel California album in its entirety. Show dates are 9/27, 9/28 and 10/5.
With 21 Grammy Awards to his name and over 26 million records sold, Gill has solidified his place as country music’s most eloquent and impassioned champion. He is both a world-class musician and a wide-ranging songwriter whose compositions earned him entry into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Audio / Vince Gill says his new album, OKIE, is made of songs about his own truth.
DownloadVince Gill (album is his truth) OC: …my truth. :58
“I’m pretty free with what I feel like I want to say, I want to write about, and I couldn’t have written these songs as a 20-year-old kid, you know? It took a life to get under my belt to finally have some perspective and finally have just, you know, getting humbled in your life, getting forgiven in your life, getting just a lot of things. I don’t know. I think that I’m not scared of some of the topics, you know. I think they are things that we, as a society, sometimes shy away from and probably shouldn’t. If communication was better, our race relations would be better, our marital relations would be better – all these things would be better. So, that’s kind of what I wanted to do was steep this record in the truth, you know, and not be afraid of trying to sugarcoat it, try to water it down or try to pass muster with who might be offended. So, it’s a bit of that, and all of it is mine. It’s my truth.”
