Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell on Grand Ole Opry

It’s going to be a good one Saturday, August 1st as the Grand Ole Opry welcomes Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, and Rodney Crowell to the stage as they continue the Saturday night Opry tradition through the COVID-19 pandemic. Sans a crowd and with only a minimal support crew on site, the Opry will broadcast live on WSM as always, along with online and via the Circle Network to mark the 4,935th consecutive Saturday show in Opry history.
Grand Ole Opry member and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill has been one of the regulars during these quarantine performances, appearing more than any other artist, including early on when he performed with his wife Amy Grant and their daughters.
Adding Opry member Emmylou Harris along with Rodney Crowell is just about the perfect combination, not just for the history the duo has together, but due to the history they both have with Vince Gill. As many know, Rodney wrote “Bluebird Wine,” which became a big hit for Emmylou early in her career, and later he joined her “Hot Band,” which backed her in the 70’s before Crowell launched a performing career of his own. The duo have famously reunited often in their careers as well, including the collaborative albums Old Yellow Moon from 2013, and 2015’s The Traveling Kind.
But Vince Gill is intertwined in that story too. When Rodney Crowell left Emmylou’s Hot Band in 1977, the first band he started was called The Cherry Bombs. Vince Gill left his first band Pure Prairie League to join The Cherry Bombs with Rodney. Gill also appeared prominently on the Emmylou Harris albums The Ballad of Sally Rose, Thirteen and Angel Band recorded in the 80’s.
“There’s nothing better than singing with old and dear friends, especially if those friends happen to be Rodney and Vince,” says Emmylou Harris. Saturday night will also be the first Opry presentation since long-time Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs officially retired.
Next Saturday’s Opry show will also have a great lineup, with rising bluegrass superstars Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle taking the stage with Old Crow Medicine Show.
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 1, 2020 @ 11:00 am
Guess I know what I’ll be doing tonight and next Saturday night. Two terrific lineups!
August 1, 2020 @ 11:19 am
Looking forward to this.
August 1, 2020 @ 11:50 am
thanks for posting this info. i sometimes forget to see who is playing, but check in here once a dayish. i also like the discussions that happen and appreciate this whole thing.
August 1, 2020 @ 1:38 pm
for kicks, the opry could also have booked rosanne cash, janis gill, and paul kennerley (their exes) tonight, and it could have been just as much fun.
August 1, 2020 @ 2:21 pm
The Opry should be inviting younger artists to perform during the quarantine.. Why are artists 60+ risking their lives??
Blake Shelton was the smartest one, he zoomed performed.
August 1, 2020 @ 2:28 pm
Dumb comment.
The performers are taking very minimal risk.
There have also been younger plenty of young performers. Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle next week are both young.
August 1, 2020 @ 3:04 pm
Considering the Opry provides health care to its aging members… I would think they would reconsider asking some “seniors” to perform in person.
I’m sure they are social distancing but still…
Yes, probably a dumb comment on my behalf…But someone had to say it.
I just hope Willie Nelson doesn’t get asked to perform any time soon.
August 1, 2020 @ 7:05 pm
Yeah right. We should all be sucking our thumbs in the corner at these 98.8 survival rate thing.
August 2, 2020 @ 1:00 am
Just because you “recovered” doesn’t mean you are all ok. Many people end up with chronic, permanent scarred lungs, heart damage, neurological damage and other problems. I know someone who had it, “recovered,” but months later his feet still hurt badly and are permanently a strange color. And percentages really don’t mean much to the 157,000 dead Americans and the people grieving their loss.
August 7, 2020 @ 4:35 pm
Kevin! The mad man waving a burning tire at the end of a pole above his head screeching statistics that are from memes and meaningless. Rock on!
August 3, 2020 @ 4:09 pm
Wow. For geezers like me who have been following Emmylou since her days with GP and Rodney since his first solo album, it’s a funny feeling to see someone expressing concern that maybe they’re too frail to risk going onstage. Time waits for no one.
August 1, 2020 @ 2:45 pm
I love Emmylou but Rodney Crowell leaves a lot to be desired.
Sure, he’s an amazing writer and guitarist but somehow he always loses my interest.
Really wish Emmy would get back to solo albums, those last 2 sound phoned in, a few nice spots but nothing inventive.
Still will be a great show
August 1, 2020 @ 3:27 pm
Looking forward to the show. Emmylou is my favorite female singer, and has been for many years. I like Crowell, and, as I have stated here before, I am a great admirer of Vince Gill’s guitar prowess, but don’t really care for his singing. Years ago I branded him the “Perry Como of Country Music,” due to his blandness. Still, all things considered, it has the makings of a great program.
August 2, 2020 @ 9:08 am
Vince, bland??? Wow, that’s a new one. Vince, Emmylou, Rodney… Three of my all-time favorites!
August 2, 2020 @ 10:39 am
Vince is a great guitarist, but his singing and stage presence make a bowl of oatmeal seem exciting by comparison.
August 2, 2020 @ 1:35 pm
George Jones thought Vince Gill was one of the best singers he’d ever heard, and he was right.
I’ve been to a handful of Vince shows, and they were all fun as hell.
August 3, 2020 @ 6:09 am
That’s OK. Lot’s of people like oatmeal.
August 1, 2020 @ 4:47 pm
opry.com if you want to stream it… or use radio.garden and look up 650 wsm in nashville tn
hope it’s a good show.
They just did a interview with Gill, some sort of pre-show I guess.
August 1, 2020 @ 5:22 pm
Not that you said otherwise, but of course, Emmylou, (as well as Vince Gill), is enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The show is streaming live on You Tube if you want to see the video, as well as listen.
August 1, 2020 @ 6:24 pm
Nice show. Glad to hear Til I can Gain Control and Leavin Lousiana in The Broad Daylight. I’ve always loved Crowells music and he has such a deep catalog of hits. I’ve seen him live in person and he often skips the hits, preferring to play obscure stuff, but the other two made sure we got to hear some of his great ones. It wasn’t a perfect show by any means, Emmys voice is wearing a bit but hey, she’s in her 70s , so she did well all things considered. Vince was rock solid as usual, and Rodney was typical Rodney. I only wish it was an hour longer. And we woulda got even more great stuff!
August 1, 2020 @ 6:48 pm
I am ready for another Marty Stuart appearance, and hopefully his band.
August 1, 2020 @ 7:17 pm
I think these great pairings are just a treasure of Country Music history. Not only hearing the songs, but listening to the stories and the friendships between these artists is priceless! I know they are saved on youtube but there could be a tremendous cd collection of the best of these events. These are truly a gift to us in these times from the Opry!
August 1, 2020 @ 7:21 pm
I ain’t complaining and love all three.
Looking forward to Billy and Molly. The circle is unbroken.
August 1, 2020 @ 7:23 pm
Wow! That was one of my favorite shows to date. I’m a big fan of all 3 artists who are also incredible singer/songwriters. I was looking forward to this show all week and it did not disappoint. Cheers to the Opry!
August 1, 2020 @ 9:34 pm
I’m very excited about next weeks show!
August 1, 2020 @ 9:41 pm
The only thing that will suck about it is the commercials.
August 2, 2020 @ 1:15 am
And the presenter..
August 2, 2020 @ 5:12 am
Looking forward to watching Billy and Molly this coming Saturday.
Interesting evening in Nashville last night.
At 6:45 ish, encountered protestors.
A woman walked out into the middle of the road and the protestors on the curb/sidewalk, advanced on the right.
Was a semi-intense situational awareness moment.
Saw that had enough space to drive between, so did.
In between the rain yesterday, the temp was 82° with some nice breezes, thus we had the car windows down, enjoying.
Suggested to the “woke” crowd that they get the hell out of the road.
Mostly, we observed people out enjoying the day and having a good time.
I do have a ?.
Both establishments that share a wall on either side of Robert’s Western World are open.
Would it be feasible to let those businesses that are closed, open, every other week, and the businesses that are currently open, close, every other week?
Thus allowing ALL businesses to still generate income, bring musicians in, protect their livelihoods?
Giving the business owners, the employees, and the musicians, a fighting chance of salvaging enough to stay afloat?
August 2, 2020 @ 9:14 am
Di,
The Nashville situation since the 4th of July weekend has been , like many cities, a beaurocratical nightmare. Problem was, 10 different staffers in a handful of bars got Covid. So the mayor shut the bars down. A few that serve food managed to stay open but at half capacity. Not naming names but a couple places didn’t exactly take it sitting down and some fines were handed out. Many of the honky tonks are corporate owned and can get govt loans to weather this. But Roberts, owned by Jesse Lee and Laylas, owned by Layla Vartanian, are hand to mouth operations and shutdown is killing them. Its gonna be a miracle if they survive this. I know Layla is doing online shows for tips. It would be a tragedy to lose these two as they represent to many, the last of the independents on Broadway and a place for authentic country music. Here’s hoping for their survival. Opening for a week and closing for a week aint gonna work though.
August 2, 2020 @ 9:36 am
Yeah, the alternate weeks being open would most likely be ineffective.
What i was actually doing, was using sarcasm, to get my point across that so many businesses are open, while others have been forced to close.
Trying to stay away from using the term politics, out of respect for being on Trigger’s website.
70% + of all people walking downtown Nashville are not wearing masks.
That Robert’s is forced closed is nothing but rampant p. bullshit.
Just another great example of must be, who you know & who you blow.
And before everyone goes off, get down here and see what is actually going on.
The 70% + figure, of people not wearing masks on the street is on the low side. It is more like 80%.
Power hungry mayors, governor’s, need to be held accountable.
Robert’s needs to sue the ever loving shit out of the city of Nashville
August 2, 2020 @ 6:36 am
I have meet and greet passes and tix to see Emmylou in September and Rodney Crowell sometime this year (date tba) but not optimistic either concert will take place. So the show last night was sort of a consolation for me. Good show but wish Emmylou would have sung Pancho and Lefty. The best version in my opinion. Vince was excellent as usual.
August 2, 2020 @ 9:34 am
Emmylou, Rodney, Vince …
Three of my all-time favorites!
August 2, 2020 @ 12:23 pm
Just got through watching the program.
It was great!
Emmylou! Emmylou! Emmylou! Emmylou! Emmylou! Emmylou! Emmylou!
August 2, 2020 @ 2:51 pm
can anyone tell me more about Vince’s guitar he used for most of the show, with the multi-colored inlay design on the body?
May 5, 2023 @ 1:34 pm
Can we get a shout out, mention, update on Rodney Crowell? The Chicago Sessions.. Lucky… WOWZA
May 5, 2023 @ 3:30 pm
Rodney Crowell’s new album was included in the newest release radar published this week:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/release-radar-most-anticipated-albums-for-2nd-half-of-2023/
It’s currently in the listening rotation as well, and being considered for review.
May 8, 2023 @ 1:59 pm
Hooray! Thank you for the clarification and consideration for future posts.