Keith Urban and Vince Gill teamed up to co-host an annual fundraiser with a star-studded lineup on Tuesday night (December 5) at Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. In its eighth year, the All For The Hall benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum raised nearly $1 million (more than $900,000), supporting the nonprofit museum’s education programs.

That’s the largest amount raised in the history of All For The Hall. Collectively, the Nashville events have raised more than $5 million, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Urban kicked off the evening with a vibrant rendition of his anthem dedicated to drifters, dreamers and born-to-be rock stars, “Wild Hearts.” He moved on to his heartfelt ballad, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” and covered “Theme From the Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)” — with one of Waylon Jennings’ guitars — to start the evening. Gill delivered his early 1990s “Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away,” and performed “Rocky Mountain Way,” before the co-hosting duo began to introduce the all-star lineup of the evening.

Mickey Guyton, Riley Green, Kelsea Ballerini, Patty Loveless, Old Dominion, ERNEST, The War And Treaty, HARDY, Trisha Yearwood and Brooks & Dunn took the Bridgestone Arena stage to perform some of their most beloved hits and covers to fit the fundraiser’s theme, “The Song Remembers When.” Artists shared stories throughout the evening of songs that defined unforgettable moments of their lives. Brenda Lee also got the Bridgestone Arena crowd into the holiday spirit with her classic holiday hit, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” which reached No. 1 65 years after its initial debut. Lee, turning 79 this month, broke a few records with that No. 1.

Urban and Gill joined many of the acts on stage to provide backup vocals and play guitar (including during Ballerini’s “most unhinged” anthem, “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too),” and donning a Santa hat and other festive pieces for Lee’s Christmas classic). Some of the other highlight moments include recently-inducted Hall of Fame member Loveless’ stories behind her music, husband-and-wife duo The War And Treaty’s powerhouse vocals captivating the arena's audience, a spotlight of a Middle Tennessee high school student who performed an original song from the museum’s flagship education program (senior Abigail Sowards, along with classmates John Dechira and David Guydon, with support from professional songwriter Paulina Jayne), and more. See the evening’s full setlist here, and see photos from the event below.

Denise Plante