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Vince Gill assembles major US tour

Vince Gill has mapped out plans to return to the road next month and keep a steady pace through the end of the year.

Before the country star dives into his extensive US tour, he'll celebrate Independence Day with tomorrow's (7/3) "Red, White and Bluegrass Night" at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium and then join his wife, Amy Grant, for a July 28 Colorado Springs benefit concert to kick off the 2008 US Senior Open.

Gill's summer/fall trek is set to launch Aug. 18 in Wellington, OH, and visit more than 40 cities across the country through early December. The performer also has a three-night stand booked in Nashville early next year. His full schedule is included below.

Gill has toured heavily over the past couple of years to support his sprawling, quadruple-album release, "These Days," which surfaced in the fall of 2006 and landed in the Top 5 on the country albums chart. The set comprises 43 new and original songs that the Grammy-winning singer wrote or co-wrote. Each disc explores a different musical mood: traditional country; ballads; contemporary, up-tempo songs; and acoustic/bluegrass music.

"Co-produced by Gill, keyboardist John Hobbs and sound engineer Justin Niebank, "These Days" features more than 20 guest performers, including Grant, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Phil Everly, LeAnn Rimes, Gretchen Wilson, Michael McDonald and steel-guitar virtuoso Buddy Emmons. The set has spawned country hits "The Reason Why" and "What You Give Away," the latter of which is streaming at Gill's MySpace page.

Fans can also catch the Country Music Hall of Famer on forthcoming album releases by George Jones ("George Jones: Burn Your Playhouse Down: The Unreleased Duets") and Little Feat ("Join the Band"). Both records are expected to hit stores next month.

During his career, Gill has sold more than 26 million albums, earned 19 Grammys and taken home 18 Country Music Association Awards, according to his bio. He is also known as one of country music's most generous humanitarians, having lent his talent to hundreds of charitable events.