Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill announced on Friday (May 10) a forthcoming solo album, Okie, due out Aug. 23. The news also includes the Mother's Day weekend unveiling of “A Letter to My Mama,” one of 12 new songs written or co-written by Gill for the project.

With the album’s title and varied themes, Gill helps Merle Haggard and other inspirations reclaim “Okie,” a term used in the past to disparage Oklahoma natives living on the West Coast during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression years. For Gill, a proud Oklahoman, it now applies to common folks with specific fears and triumphs that are broadly relatable to listeners well beyond the Sooner State.

“I thought this was going to be a songwriter record, not a concept album,” Gill says in a press release. “It wound up being more information than I’d envisioned. A friend sent me an email saying, ‘You could have only written this record after living a 60-year-plus life.’ He said, ‘There’s no struggle in these songs, just truth and your experience.'"

"A Letter to My Mama," the album’s lead release, applies Gill’s acoustic-driven, sentimental style to a nod to country music’s time-tested themes of faith, family and home. Readers can press play above to hear the song.

Further details about Okie, such as a track list, have not yet been made available. However, the record is available for pre-order on Gill's official website. The 21-time Grammy Award winner and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member has a busy summer on tap, including a European tour with the Eagles.

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