Vince Gill adds Del McCoury Band, Amy Grant to summer tour

The new show will be an expansion of those featured on the recently concluded These Days Tour, which focused on Gill's four-CD "These Days" album and hits.

"We're calling this 'Vince Gill: The Friends and Family Tour, Featuring Amy Grant and the Del McCoury Band,'" Gill said. "I know that's a real mouthful. But, believe me, it's going to be a real earful, too. We aim to dazzle."

"I always enjoy working with Vince," said Grant, the gospel and pop star who's also Gill's wife. "It's especially exciting to be on the road with him on the heels of his great project, 'These Days.' Between Del and his band, the Sapphire Blue Horn Section and all the other musicians on stage, this will be a great spectrum of music."

McCoury agreed. "Vince is like one of the boys," he said, "great hair, great singer and a pretty good picker. Bluegrass has always been part of his life and it shows on stage."

McCoury first gained attention in the early 1960s as lead singer and guitarist for Bill Monroe's fabled Blue Grass Boys band. He later led his own band, aided by sons Ronnie and Rob. The Del McCoury Band, the most awarded artist in the history of Bluegrass, has nine times won the International Bluegrass Music Assn.'s Entertainer of the Year Award. In 2005, the band's CD, "The Company We Keep," won the Best Bluegrass Album Grammy.

Grant has been a vocal star since her teen years, starting in gospel and then expanding into pop music. Her pop hits include "The Next Time I Fall" (with Peter Cetera), "Baby Baby," "Every Heartbeat" and "That's What Love Is For." Her gospel recordings have netted her six Grammys.

Grant and the Del McCoury Band each made appearances on four tracks of "These Days."
Tour dates are:
July14 Chastain Park Amphitheater/Atlanta, GA
July15 Charlottesville Pavilion/Charlottesville, VA
July18 The Filene Center/Vienna, VA
July19 Ryan Center/Kingston, R.I.
July20 Meadowbrook Musical Arts Center/Gilford, N.H.
July21 Chevrolet Theatre/Wallingford, CT
July22 Telos Pavillion Harbor Center/Portsmouth, VA
Aug. 29 Minnesota State Fair Grandstand/St. Paul, MN
Aug. 31 Deer Valley Outdoor Theater/Park City, UT
Sept. 1 Casper Events Center/Casper, WY
Sept. 2 The Villages At Copper Mountain/Copper Mountain, CO
Sept. 5 Britt Pavillon/Jacksonville, OR
Sept. 6 The Concerts At Wente Vineyard/Livermore, CA
Sept. 7 Ironstone Amphitheatre/Murphys, CA
Sept. 8 The Greek Theatre/Los Angeles
Sept. 9 Fantasy Springs Casino/Indio, CA
Sept. 10 Tims Toyota Center/Prescott Valley, AZ
Sept. 11 Santa Ana Star Center/Rio Rancho, N.M.