by Vernell Hackett - The Boot

The invitation to play at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago on June 26 might not have been a total surprise for Vince Gill, yet it is not one he takes lightly. Vince remembers the first time he was invited to participate, at the inaugural event, held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas in June 2004. He says he'd been in a bit of a rut in his creative realm, and that phone call gave him renewed energy to write songs and record his Grammy-winning four-CD set, 'These Days.'

"At the time, I was questioning what I was doing and why things weren't connecting like they had at one point in my career," Vince recalls. "Then I got this call from Eric Clapton, who said, 'I'm only inviting people whose playing I admire and who I like.'

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