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Vince Gill's Emotional New Album 'Okie' Is His Most Personal Yet

Vince Gill
John Shearer
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Courtesy of the artist
Vince Gill

As a World Cafe host, there's one question I'm asked more than any other: Who has been your favorite person to interview? My answer: Vince Gill. And while it's not the answer I expected, I can't think of more thoughtful and kind storyteller than Vince.

Considered one of the finest songwriters and guitarists in country music, Gill's got the bona fides to back it up, with over 20 Grammys to his name and a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Though he doesn't rule the charts like he did in the '90s, he's a beloved and in-demand collaborator, with over 1,000 guest appearances. More recently, he was featured on Ken Burns' latest film, Country Music, and since 2017, he's served as Glenn Frey's replacement in the Eagles.

His latest record, Okie, is a raw, stripped-down and emotional album, and it's one he got to make on his own terms. More on the album, plus a live performance in this session, all in the player above.

Copyright 2021 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.

World Cafe senior producer Kimberly Junod has been a part of the World Cafe team since 2001, when she started as the show's first line producer. In 2011 Kimberly launched (and continues to helm) World Cafe's Sense of Place series that includes social media, broadcast and video elements to take listeners across the U.S. and abroad with an intimate look at local music scenes. She was thrilled to be part of the team that received the 2006 ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award for excellence in music programming. In the time she has spent at World Cafe, Kimberly has produced and edited thousands of interviews and recorded several hundred bands for the program, as well as supervised the show's production staff. She has also taught sound to young women (at Girl's Rock Philly) and adults (as an "Ask an Engineer" at WYNC's Werk It! Women's Podcast Festival).