Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, & OCMS on the Grand Ole Opry
There are Grand Ole Opry shows, and then there will be the Grand Ole Opry show on Saturday, August 8th that will assemble some of the best talent of the string disciplines of this generation all in one place.
The must-see lineup will include psychedelic bluegrass superhero Billy Strings, who continues to take string music to otherworldly heights and places we never thought were possible. Joining him will be Molly Tuttle, who is considered by many to be one the best guitarists that has ever graced the bluegrass discipline with her unique clawhammer style, along with being a stellar singer and songwriter. Regularly performing with Billy Strings, the two become something greater than their sum of their already astounding parts whenever they take the stage together.
Also taking the Opry stage and added last minute to the previously-announced lineup will be former Carolina Chocolate Drops member and roots music revivalist Dom Flemons. Dom brings an entirely different sound and perspective to the string music discipline steeped in primitive country and the black cowboy legacy that he is helping to keep alive in the modern era.
And if that isn’t enough talent for you, Grand Ole Opry members Old Crow Medicine Show will also appear, helping to keep the circle unbroken with their busking style of stringband music.
About the only concern is how they will fit into an hour-long set with commercial breaks. Saturday night’s show will mark the 4,936th consecutive Saturday show in Opry history, which has endured through the COVID-19 shutdown performing with minimal crew, and no crowd.
Fans can watch Saturday night’s Opry presentation live via the embedded player below, on the new Circle Network via local affiliates of the expanding channel (check availability), on the Circle Network’s Facebook Page, or on The Circle Network’s YouTube page, or listen via WSM. The presentation begins at 7 p.m. Central.
August 8, 2020 @ 11:19 am
Thanks for the heads-up. Totally share your perspective on Billy Strings–“superhero” is a fantastic description–and looking forward to learning more about Molly Tuttle and the others as well.
August 9, 2020 @ 12:14 pm
Super “talented” musician ……but “hero”. Hardly !?. …nothing heroic about playing good music…
August 8, 2020 @ 2:04 pm
That lineup is a humdinger! I’m very excited for it!
August 8, 2020 @ 2:35 pm
This Opry broadcast needs to be expanded to about 3 hrs in length. Billy Strings ‘Home’ was my personal choice for AOTY in 2019. As Trigger so perfectly stated Billy and band do “take string music to otherworldly heights”.
August 8, 2020 @ 2:37 pm
“…how they will fit into an hour-long set…”
answer: play faster.
August 8, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
I’m a fan of Molly and Dom. Thanks for the heads up, I would have forgot.
August 8, 2020 @ 5:05 pm
When you thought the show couldn’t get any better and you find out the “turd” is on vacation.
August 8, 2020 @ 5:34 pm
Billy is killing it. I’m buying all his records. What a natural. Doc Watson must be smiling down from Heaven. This generation is filling the shoes, boys.
August 8, 2020 @ 5:44 pm
Props to Billy for channeling Jimmy Martin.
August 8, 2020 @ 5:45 pm
Wow, Dom.
What fun!!!
August 8, 2020 @ 5:53 pm
Nothing feels more right the OCMS on the Opry stage!
August 8, 2020 @ 6:01 pm
They cut it off! What fun! Fantastic. I’m wired now.
August 8, 2020 @ 6:03 pm
Holy Cow,
What a GREAT show!
Now that’s how the OPRY is done.
THEY WERE ALL OVER IT!
DOM, Molly, Billy, OCMS.
August 8, 2020 @ 6:09 pm
Yeah was awesome. I’m sure Luke and Darius will put them to shame next week though ????
August 8, 2020 @ 6:22 pm
That was a wonderful albeit too short show! Those obnoxious ad breaks I know are neccessary but you just sit there saying just get back to the music! Wonderful musicians! Such a treat to sit on a screened porch in NH on a summer Saturday night watching and enjoying this great music!
August 8, 2020 @ 6:26 pm
Happy to see the old time stage patter, like it was a performance or something. Old Crow done good with Acuff’s old fiddle.
And Molly Tuttle is the business.
August 8, 2020 @ 7:11 pm
Good lord that was a fun show! ‘Scuse me while I go buy all the Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings albums I can find
August 9, 2020 @ 6:44 am
Thanks for the heads up on this one. I never watched the Circle Network before but luckily found it on my hd antenna. That was an awesome show and if you weren’t grinning from ear to ear during that finale, something is wrong with you.
It must have been weird for them without an actual audience though. I know Molly Tuttle mentioned that after her performance. Poor Ketch’s head looked like it was just going to start spinning like a top at one point, like he didn’t know where to look or how he should be acting. He did an awesome job though.
August 9, 2020 @ 1:24 pm
That was a fantastic show. I’ve seen all but Molly perform live previously but she’s on my shortlist.
August 9, 2020 @ 1:50 pm
Oddly enough, I personally enjoyed Dom Flemons and Ketch Secor much more than Billy. I dig Billy’s picking, don’t get me wrong, but Dom and Ketch are just tremendous entertainers.
August 9, 2020 @ 2:25 pm
Really it has to be one of the saddest things I’ve even seen… when at the end of each song, the artist is left standing there on stage and instead of applause they are met with a moment of silence since there is no audience. Wow. What a crazy world we live in. Good and Evil. Happy and Sad. Joy and Pain. To me it feels like the day the music died…My hats off to all the performers during this time.Thank you for your music.
August 9, 2020 @ 2:26 pm
Loved it . Thanks. Very enjoyable. Great energy. Loved those strings.
August 10, 2020 @ 6:29 am
What a show!
Dom was infinitely entertaining.
Molly was fantastic, and a perfect complementary piece for OCMS as well.
Billy is just unbelievable.
OCMS killed it.
Imagine if they replaced Bobby Bones with Ketch Secor…
August 10, 2020 @ 8:46 am
Ketch or Dom, or both. They’re both wonderful entertainers and seemed to have a great time together. Embrace the healing power of “and.”
August 10, 2020 @ 8:45 am
I rarely, if ever, go on the internet to complain, but man that guy from Old Crow Medicine Show is a flopping idiot, huh? Last night being my first time watching this program I didn’t have to suffer Bobby Bones, but man.. that fiddle player was annoying. It really makes me like their music less knowing that guy is just, “doing that” all the time.
That being said, Don Flemons was hitting all the right notes for me and i definitely caught up on Molly Tuttle all day Sunday.
August 11, 2020 @ 1:05 am
What happened to the long time banjo player in OCMS? I can’t keep up with all the line-up changes.
August 11, 2020 @ 7:07 am
https://savingcountrymusic.com/on-founding-member-critter-fuqua-leaving-old-crow-medicine-show/
August 11, 2020 @ 7:17 am
Ah yes. And Kevin Hayes left too?
August 11, 2020 @ 8:11 am
Ketch does a real good announcing job, but I really would like to see this group of talent around a campfire. Because this is fantastic music, but it’s like how you watch sports these days. See the best athletes in empty stadiums, it’s all too depressing. The campfire would be more fun for the artists.
Anyway, Molly Tuttle covering Rancid totally made this stream worth watching.