Last week (April 10), Keith Urban hosted the annual All for the Hall fundraiser, which benefits the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. An all-star lineup made up of Hall of Fame members, contemporary country stars and newcomers to the scene joined the Opry’s newest member to put on an unforgettable show for a sold-out, rowdy crowd.

This year, Urban and Vince Gill combined forces to choose the show’s theme. “We wanted to celebrate all the great bands country music has had over the last thirty, forty years,” said Gill, who is president of the museum’s Board of Officers and Trustees.

The all-star lineup, including contemporary stars like Thompson Square, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, the Band Perry and more, payed homage to some of country music’s fathers. Performers tipped their hats to names like Pure Prairie League and Buck Owens.

The roster extended to many generations and included bands with deeper roots. Nineties hitmakers Diamond Rio performed ‘Meet Me in the Middle,’ and hall-of-famers Alabama performed a few hits as well.

Perhaps the best part of the evening was when unexpected walk-ons Merle Haggard and Don Williams stepped onto the stage to a roaring welcome.

The show closed with the entire lineup joining Gill, Haggard and Urban onstage to perform an energetic version of the Beatles’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There.’ By night’s end, the long list of artists had honored the genre’s past while proving that the future is in talented hands.

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