Amy and grant and and greatest and hit

Holiday spirit -- Amy Grant, Vince Gill bring Christmas crooning to

Amy Grant says her favorite holiday song is "I'll Be Home for Christmas." The choice is fitting, seeing as how the popular singer and her husband have made a habit of spending the weeks leading up to Christmas away from their Nashville, Tenn. home.

Grant and her spouse, country singer Vince Gill, will spend most of December crooning Christmas tunes during their joint holiday tour, "Simply Christmas." Between the first of the month and Dec. 19, the couple will perform in more than a dozen venues across the country, including at the Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena at

7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Still, Grant, 44, insists that the pair's December travels don't feel as labored as normal concert tours.

"This is not like going on tour," she said in recent telephone interview, later adding, "It's only three weeks, which makes it very nice. We're at a good place in life. We don't have to be out on the road for long periods of time. ... It's nice to be home with (the kids) and not to have to be on the road as much."

Gill, 47, agrees that brevity is the operative word when it comes to touring, especially during the holidays.

"When our careers were young we had to be on the road a lot. Now we don't," he said. "It's a nice place to be. We can choose when and where we want to tour."

And, for the third time since 2001, the couple has chosen this time of year to hit the road. In their show, they'll perform a selection of Christmas songs, plus some of their better-known non- holiday material.

"During the first half of the show we'll sing Christmas favorites and really celebrate the holiday," said Grant. "But the second half will not be Christmas music. After a short intermission, Vince and I will perform a medley of songs that were hits for us."

Both artists have quite a hit list from which to choose. They have sold more than 22 million albums combined and have earned countless awards in their respective genres; Gill is strictly a country star, while Grant's roots are in Christian and pop music.

Gill, who was born and raised in Norman, Okla., joined his

first bluegrass band when he was in high school. He cut his first record deal in 1983 with RCA Records, but it was in 1990 that his unique style of country music and his high tenor voice garnered him a chart-topper. "When I Call Your Name," not only went No. 1 on the Billboard charts, it was named "Single of the Year," by the Country Music Association.

Since then Gill has been named CMA Entertainer of the Year twice and has watched several singles climb the charts, including "One More Last Chance," "High Lonesome Sound" and his tribute to his late brother, "Go Rest High On That Mountain."

"I wrote 'Go Rest High On That Mountain' as a tribute to my brother and to help me through my grief," Gill said. "But now I have come to realize that it has helped many people who have lost a loved one."

Grant, who was reared in Nashville, rose to stardom in the Christian music genre. As a young girl she sang a cappella at her church, but by the time she was a teenager she had taken up playing the guitar and was performing for her friends and at church services.

She signed her first record deal at the tender age of 17. Though much of her work has been rooted in religion, Grant gained mainstream success in the early 1990s with songs like "Baby Baby" and "Every Heartbeat."

She recently released a "Greatest Hits" album, produced by Gill, and is working on another collection of hymns. Gill said he also has begun work on a new album as well as producing Grant's next one.

Comedian Henry Cho, a Nashville native, will open for the duo. And during the Christmas portion of the show, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra will back the singers.

"The Nashville Chamber Orchestra is wonderful," Grant said. "If you have not had the privilege of hearing this orchestra, you are in for a real treat."