What to know about Blake Shelton’s ‘All for the Hall’ Tulsa benefit show
Blake Shelton is coming back to his home state this weekend to wrap up his “Back to the Honky Tonk Tour.”
The five-time Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year is headlining “Blake Shelton & Very Special Friends: Oklahoma Is All for the Hall” at 7 p.m. March 30 at Tulsa’s BOK Center.
“It’s basically the last night of my tour, and we decided to turn it into this huge, fun jam night. It’s not some weird awards ceremony,” Shelton explained in video posted on his social media. “It’s just gonna be one great Oklahoma artist after another. ... It’s gonna be one of the most epic nights of my life.”
Here’s what you need to know about Shelton’s all-star all-Oklahoma All for the Hall fundraising concert, benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, and its education programs:
Who is playing Blake Shelton’s ‘Oklahoma Is All for the Hall’ concert?
Along with Shelton, Country Music Hall of Fame member and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, of the superstar duo Brooks & Dunn; Tony and Emmy Award winner and Broken Arrow native Kristin Chenoweth; CMA and Academy of Country Music nominee and Bethel Acres native Wade Hayes; and fan-favorite Muskogee native singer-songwriters The Swon Brothers are on the lineup for “Oklahoma Is All for the Hall.”
Country Music Hall of Famer and 22time Grammy Award winner Vince Gill, who was born in Norman and grew up in Oklahoma City, was added to the bill last month.
Radio and television personality Storme Warren will host the benefit concert at Tulsa’s BOK Center.
“There will probably be others, honestly, that get added to the bill. It’s just a fun party night full of music. It’s not some kind of a ceremony or weird dinner or something like that,” said Shelton, who previously brought his “Back to the Honky Tonk Tour” to Oklahoma for a March 2023 show at OKC’s Paycom Center.
“Basically, it’s gonna be my concert, plus a whole bunch of other people jumping on stage and doing their songs. ... It is a benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame, which we’re excited about, but for you guys coming to the show, it’s just gonna be one incredible, epic concert.”
For her part of the “Oklahoma Is All for the Hall” show, Chenoweth told The Oklahoman that she “fashioned a country song and a Broadway song together.”
“I grew up listening first and foremost to country music. I think the reason that Broadway felt natural to me is because country music started with me, and all songs are built on stories,” Chenoweth said in an email interview.
“I’m very honored to have been asked to be there for Blake and the Country Music Hall of Fame.”
What is the All for the Hall concert series and how does it support the Country Music Hall of Fame?
The Tulsa concert marks the first time an All for the Hall benefit show has been organized in Oklahoma.
The All for the Hall campaign began in 2005 when Gill suggested country music artists contribute the proceeds of one annual performance to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The Nashville institution collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences.
Launched in 2007 in New York, the All for the Hall series has alternated between New York and Los Angeles in succeeding years, with Gill and fellow Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris as hosts.
With fellow Grammy winner Keith Urban, Gill also co-hosts a recurring All for the Hall concert in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. In September 2021, the museum hosted the first All for the Hall benefit in Dallas, which is set to return to the Texas city in 2024.
“It speaks volumes when an artist of Blake Shelton’s stature supports our museum’s educational programs so wholeheartedly and so generously,” Kyle Young, chief executive officer for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement.
Young expressed his gratitude to the Oklahoma performers on the bill for “giving their ‘all for the Hall,’ and for helping us continue to educate our many audiences about the enduring cultural value of country music.”
All proceeds from the Tulsa show will go to the nonprofit museum’s education initiatives, which directly served more than 230,000 people through in-person and virtual programs in 2023.
To date, All for the Hall concerts have raised nearly $6 million in support of the museum’s educational initiatives, which yearly reach 130,000+ people.
“I can’t think of a better place than Oklahoma for the next All for the Hall show,” Shelton said in a statement. “Oklahoma and country music are synonymous, and members of the Country Music Hall of Fame include some of our most iconic stars, from Ronnie Dunn to Garth, Reba and Vince Gill, to name a few. I’m thrilled to be hosting this show in my home state!”
The Country Music Hall of Fame will add another Oklahoma superstar at its Oct. 20 Medallion Ceremony, when the late Toby Keith is inducted, along with fellow hitmaker John Anderson and guitarist James Burton.