Nashville To L.A.: CMHoF’s All For The Hall

Pictured (L-R): Vince Gill, Holly Williams, Nancy Wilson, Ann Wilson, Emmylou Harris, Rita Wilson and Jason Mraz. Photo: Brandon Clark/ABImages

Los Angeles’ Club Nokia welcomed a star-studded, eclectic lineup of artists for the All For The Hall fundraising event benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The event took place Tuesday, March 4, and featured music from Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Heart, Jason Mraz, Holly Williams, and Cam Ochs.

Gill performed Merle Haggard‘s “I Can’t Be Myself,” his own “Whenever You Come Around,” and the Buck Owens classic “Together Again,” with Harris lending her signature harmonies. Harris offered “Home Sweet Home,” from her 2011 album Hard Bargain, as well the Gillian Welch song “Orphan Girl,” and a cover of “Tears In Heaven,” the Eric Clapton ballad penned by Will Jennings. Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart gave a stirring rendition of their hit “Dog & Butterfly.”

Mraz performed his hits, “I’m Yours” and “I Won’t Give Up.”

One of the guests for the evening was actress and singer-songwriter Rita Wilson, who performed “You’re Still Gone,” which she co-wrote with Nashville writers Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall Stewart.

The audience was delighted by the performers’ renditions of many of their hits, and the performers relished opportunities to add a few somber selections to the mix. “I love singing sad songs,” said Ann Wilson. “I guess if you sing too many in a row, the audience starts going, ‘Ahhhhh,'” Harris stated, “We can’t get enough sad songs,” to which Wilson replied, “You can’t beat a good ol’ dying song.”

Williams performed “Waiting on June,” about the life and death of her maternal grandparents, Warren and June White. “She’s one of my favorite singers and songwriters around these days,” Gill praised Williams.

“Nashville is this amazing town, with this great songwriting community, and it also has this incredible museum,” Rita Wilson said, stating that she is drawn to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s collection of stage wear designed by Nudie the Rodeo Tailor. “I hope if you do plan a trip [to Nashville], go there and see the museum.”

Gill closed the show with a rendition of the James Taylor song “Bartender’s Blues,” which was later a hit for George Jones. The two-hour performance resulted in a standing ovation for the performers.