Monday, July 9, 2018

Tuesday Night Opry 7/10 & Wednesday Night Opry 7/11

Here are the line-ups for the mid-week Opry shows:

Tuesday July 10
7:00: John Conlee; Lucas Hoge
7:30: Holly Williams; Jason Crabb
Intermission
8:15: Crystal Gayle; Henry Cho
8:45: Home Free; Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers

Wednesday July 11
7:00: Jeannie Seely; Joe Diffie
7:30: Charles Esten; Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers
Intermission
8:15: Craig Morgan; Carly Pearce; Chris Janson

For Chris Janson, this will be his 15th Opry appearance this year. For those who were wondering, it would appear that Chris is taking his Opry membership seriously.

Now that we are at the mid-point of the year, I thought I would share a couple of numbers regarding the Opry's members:

Mike Snider is the clubhouse leader with 53 appearances. Jeannie Seely follows with 50, then you have Riders In The Sky at 39, The Whites 38, Bill Anderson 32, Ricky Skaggs 30 and Connie Smith 28. It would definitely appear that the core group of veterans continues to carry the heavy load.

Among the newest Opry members, in addition to the previously mentioned Chris Janson, Dailey & Vincent are at 14 appearances, Crystal Gayle 7 and Chris Young 3. Bobby Bare, who joined a few months back, has already made several appearances since his membership was restored.

Many have noticed the increased appearances by Ricky Skaggs. Others who have appeared more often in 2018 include Terry Clark (12), Craig Morgan (10), Trace Adkins (9), Lorrie Morgan (8) and Charley Pride (6). With her recent move to Florida, it will be interesting to see if Lorrie continues her Opry appearances.

On the flip side, the Opry appearances by Vince Gill have really declined. He is at 4 for the year and with his heavy touring schedule with The Eagles and his own solo career, it would appear that this will be a down year for Vince.

Now for the list of "active" Opry members who have made no appearances so far this year:

Clint Black
Roy Clark
Emmylou Harris
Alan Jackson
Hal Ketchum
Little Big Town
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Brad Paisley
Dolly Parton
Travis Tritt
Keith Urban
Trisha Yearwood

I will note that Martina has an appearance scheduled later in July. While Garth has not made it to the Opry stage to sing, he seems to have assumed the role of inducting new Opry members as he handled the Chris Janson and Bobby Bare inductions this year. (and I will note that Roy Clark and Hal Ketchum have been doing very limited touring, but they have always been good for a couple of Opry appearances each year). For the rest, there is still half the year to go.

Some have asked about Ray Pillow. He has not appeared on the Opry in 2018 and I have not heard anything regarding Ray. I know he had a special relationship with Pete Fisher and perhaps when Pete left, Ray thought it was a good time to step back. But nothing official.

Just some interesting numbers to share.

19 comments:

  1. Even though there is no date scheduled, Alan Jackson is supposed to appear in relation to a contest his Honky-tonk sponsored where the winner will appear the same night.

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    1. Patrick, you are correct in regards to Alan Jackson. Not sure where things stand with that contest and hopefully Alan follows through.

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  2. I saw Chris Janson at the Opry on June 5th, and that show overall was the most robust Opry show I've ever attended, featuring 6 Opry members. When he was first inducted as an Opry member, I scratched my head a little. I had heard just a couple of radio songs, and wasn't blown away, but seeing him at the Opry gave me real appreciation for the tremendous energy he brings to a live show. Of the other new members, I also saw Crystal Gayle on June 12th. She was one of just two Opry members on that show, and the show was a little thin on numbers. The silver lining was that Crystal got to play a little longer than the usual Opry set at the end. Seeing her at the Opry was the main reason I extended that vacation to Tennessee from my home in Texas, because I am extremely distantly related to her and had never seen her perform before. It appears all of the recent additions are showing up regularly. Thank you for all the work you put in to maintain this site, and thanks to all of the artists who do show up to the Opry like they're supposed to. Robert.

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    1. Stop by more often Robert. Enjoyed your comments.

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  4. I'm a huge Brad Paisley fan and know that he has said all of the right things about the Opry. I am quite disappointed that his Opry appearances have fallen off considerably over the past couple of years. Byron, do you know if there has been some kind of falling out between Brad and the powers that be at the Opry? Any other speculation regarding his absence?

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    1. Woody, I have not heard anything regarding any falling out between Brad and the Opry management. Hopefully he gets back soon. I know he has been touring with Hank Williams, Jr.

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  5. Here is something I forgot and maybe to think about. The Opry is building up Charles Esten and his upcoming 100th guest appearance on the Opry, taking place on July 20. If you remember, the last act to have reached 100 guest appearances was Dailey & Vincent and they received an invitation to join the Opry on that night. Could there be a repeat?

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  6. Happy Birthday to the Opry's oldest member. Jesse Mcreynolds is 89 today!

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  7. Bobby Osborne has quite a few appearances in the core group as does Bill Anderson. Jesse McReynolds will hit around 15 providing health and what does that say about the no shows

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  8. Interesting info and actually a sad commentary. I am one who is not interested in seeing Charles Esten becoming a member. (Anonymous in PA)

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  9. I agree, not interested a pretend Opry artist from a TV show becoming a member when there are so many true Country artist, traditional and not, out there performing and recording who deserve a chance. A 100 times? So, what about Rhonda Vincent, the Grascals who just announced last time out it was there 200th time. Not a huge fan of Elizabeth Cook but how many times has she been on. Mandy Barnett and on and on. Folks who are singers and muscians, not actors of singers and musicians.

    Byron, not firing back at you even though it might sound like it. I know you are just stating the facts.

    And would we expect any less out of the remaining veterans that are still active? They'll carry it as long as they can sing or breath. Then we call all shed some tears.

    Jim
    Knightsville, IN

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    1. Jim, I agree with your thoughts. I was just throwing it out there that the Opry was promoting Esten's 100th appearance.

      As to those mentioned, I know Rhonda Vincent wants to be an Opry member and is only waiting on the Opry's management to invite her. Many are still hoping that it will happen but time is moving past her. Same thoughts on the Grascals, although with the recent addition of Dailey & Vincent (a similar bluegrass group), that will probably not happen.

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    2. The Opry might be well served to induct EVERYONE who has appeared a hundred times or more. If they weren't considered good enough to be on stage, then they shouldn't be on stage, but if they are good enough to be on stage a hundred times, then they'll probably be better members than a whole lot of the existing membership that rarely shows.Robert.

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    3. In my opinion, Rhonda Vincent should have been a member a long time ago...Bob

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    4. I agree 100% with Robert and Bob, for what that's worth.

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  10. I have to say I am encouraged by a) the appearances by the newer members and b) the list of artists who are already around 10 appearances for the year. The same 5-6 artists can't be the members appearing on every show forever, and a couple years ago it didn't look like others were stepping up. However, some of those artists from the 80s/90s are making several appearances and now even the new members (young and young at heart) are making good contributions.

    I also wanted to note regarding Vince Gill that while I am not happy that he isn't playing the Opry, I am happy for him that he has this opportunity with the Eagles and have no issues with him stepping away for a bit because of a busy schedule. I'm confident he will appear more once he is able to.

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  11. Re Rhonda Vincent - a female bluegrass Opry member would be fantastic. Rhonda is one of the hardest working/touring performers out there; and she always has projects going; just won a Grammy and will probably get another next year. I am sure she would add regular visits to the Opry in her schedule if she were a member. Bluegrass performers on the Opry are always well received and are some of the most-liked acts on the shows - just listen to the audience after they finish! (Anonymous in PA)

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  12. One observation that may be keeping some of the 70, 80, and 90’s artists off the Opry is the abundance of casino performances on the weekends. In Oklahoma on any given weekend it is almost a who’s who of these country artists. This is a new market for them. Smaller venues and they seem to be very comfortable playing them.
    I do agree about Rhonda Vincent along with the other comments.

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