The Grand Ole Opry regularly loves to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and other such milestones for its members when they come around on the calendar. It’s a good reason for fans to tune in, and can build a good theme around a segment or an entire show. No anniversary for any Opry member might be […]
There are few moments that are more significant in the lives and careers of country and roots musicians than making their debut appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. Often it’s artists in their 20s and 30s who are the ones who get that special opportunity, but at 72, Ray Wylie Hubbard finally got his turn.
On Sunday night (6-9), legendary hip-hop outfit The Wu-Tang Clan made a stop at the Ryman Auditorium as part of their 25th Anniversary tour for a sold-out performance. Known affectionately as the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the booking of Wu-Tang at the Ryman might have seemed a little weird to some.
Surging up-and-coming country music artist Luke Combs will be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry. The 29-year-old was surprised during the Tuesday night (6-11) Opry presentation by traditionalist Craig Morgan, country legend John Conlee, and recent Grand Ole Opry member Chris Janson with the invitation.
It wasn’t just your average Grand Ole Opry presentation Tuesday night (5-28). When you saw country traditionalist Kelsey Waldon was scheduled to perform in the same segment as John Prine, and that Sturgill Simpson was given his own extended set to close out the show, you had a sense something special was in the air.
A sports program is coming to the most historic and iconic radio station in country music to fill the critical afternoon drive slot. 650 WSM-AM—The Home of the Grand Ole Opry and one of the primary reasons country music even exists as a popular enterprise—has hired long-time Nashville sports talk personality George Plaster.
On Saturday, May 4th, Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member Randy Travis will turn 60 years old. And to commemorate the milestone, the Grand Ole Opry is planning a special tribute to Travis, while the flagship radio station of the Opry, 650 AM-WSM, has named Randy Travis their Artist of the Month.
We’re just lucky to still have Charley Crockett around at this point. While the 34-year-old was getting ready to have surgery for a seven-year-old hernia condition he’d been suffering from, but didn’t have the funds to address, he was diagnosed with a major heart condition. Now after a few months on the mend, he’s ready to get back on the road.
As a country music fan, you just want to proudly be able to profess to people your appreciation for this music that you hold such a passion for. You want to believe in its institutions, and that the best and the brightest of a generation are foisted forward and given the greatest opportunities.
Late 90’s-early 2000’s country star Mark Wills will be the 193rd member of the Grand Ole Opry. This was the news coming out of the Opry Friday Night (12-21) when Vince Gill invited Wills to join the historic country music institution near the end of the evening’s presentation.
Bill Murray has recently been putting together quite a side career that involves appearing in the most random places to support cool country and roots artists. Murray did this in May when he showed up to the dive bar Filthy McNasty’s in Ft. Worth to take in the music of some local songwriters while in town for a golf tournament.
Membership to the Grand Ole Opry is always a hot button issue among country fans, just as much as induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame is. As country music’s oldest and most hallowed institution, an invitation to join the Opry is one of the most honored opportunities a country artist can receive, and […]
There most definitely have been greater offenders to the roots and the integrity of country music over the past few years than Dustin Lynch. But arguably nobody has been a greater disappointment than the Broken Bow artist from Tullahoma, Tennessee. With a promising start to his career, with his strong voice and propensity to sport […]
The original Outlaw and Country Music Hall of Famer Bobby Bare will be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry, again. This is the news coming out of Nashville Saturday night (4-7) after Bare was invited to join country music’s most historic institution. He was officially invited by Garth Brooks, who shocked the Opry crowd when he took the stage.
Most importantly, Chis Janson has proven that he cares, because you don’t play the Opry for the money. Ans as soon as the Opry membership is refreshed with names of artists who show passion for the Opry, then perhaps a renewed passion for the Opry itself will also appear in fans and other artists
Music is the way we get through these moments. And though others have tried valiantly, Eric Church is the one so far, verified by the viral reaction, that has stepped out of the shadows of grief to deliver the light and the message we’ve all been waiting to hear, and put words to the emotions we all feel.
Chris Young is the newest invitee to the Grand Ole Opry? No offense the the feather-haired one, but they may as well have invited a fern. It’s not necessarily a bad pick, but it just doesn’t elicit a change in the pulse rate enough either way to make the new invitation do what all new invitations to the Grand Ole Opry must…
Two titans of country and bluegrass music who helped make The Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium the storied institutions they are, were repaid with eternal markers for their contributions when life-sized bronze statues of the two men were unveiled on the grounds of the Ryman this week in Nashville.
The new deal brings Carrie Underwood full circle. In 1996, when Carrie Underwood was just 14, she had auditioned for Capitol Records. When the company was forging a contract with the fledgling star, the management at the company changed and the deal fell through.
Dear Sally Williams, To begin, let me offer my sincere congratulations to you for ascending to the position of not just the new General Manager of the most esteemed and storied institution in all of country music, but as the General Manager, and Senior Vice President of Ryman Hospitality’s new Programming and Artist Relations Division.
Don Warden, who was one of the original members of the Porter Wagoner Trio, and spent nearly 50 years in service to Dolly Parton, passed away on Saturday, March 11th according to Dolly Parton and Don’s family. The news was revealed on Monday when Dolly paid tribute to her long-time manager and right hand man in a personal statement.
Once again in 2016, the current mainstream artist leading the pack of delinquent members is Blake Shelton who couldn’t find the time to make even one appearance in 2016 at the Grand Ole Opry, let alone the 10 or so appearances current members are expected to make. Country fans shouldn’t be surprised by this; it’s pretty much par for the course…
As the most storied institution in country, the direction of the Grand Ole Opry is always a hot topic, especially among traditional country fans. And many were unhappy with how the Opry functioned under the Pete Fisher regime. Of course the biggest question for Grand Ole Opry fans is who will be Pete Fisher’s replacement, and what direction will the new leadership take the institution?
The duo played a special half hour extended set Friday night, and were joined on stage by Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, as well as John Carter Cash and his wife Ana Cristina, Dailey’s father JB Dailey and Vincent’s mother Carolyn Vincent. Near the end of the set, Marty Stuart shocked everyone by asking the duo to become official Opry members.