Grand Ole Opry 1/17 & 1/18

The big news regarding the Grand Ole Opry this weekend is the return of Opry member Alan Jackson to the stage of the Opry. This will be Alan's first Opry appearance since June 2016 and he is scheduled for both shows on Friday night.

Alan Jackson joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry on June 7, 1991. He was part of the group that joined in the late 80s and early 90s, who basically became Opry members while making no commitments as to the number of appearances they would make. While a few, such as Vince Gill, have made a number of Opry appearances over the years, others such as Clint Black and Garth Brooks, have gone years without appearing on the Opry. Alan, unfortunately, has fallen into that latter group.

2020 will be Alan's 29th year as an Opry member, and if I did my math correctly, he has made 67 Opry appearances in those 29 years, with 60 of those appearances came before 2010.

As an Alan Jackson fan, I am happy that he is back on the Opry this weekend and hopefully it will be a start of a re connection between Alan and the Opry.

Joining Alan on the Friday Night Opry will be fellow Hall of Fame members Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Alan Jackson, Connie Smith, and on the first show, Bill Anderson. Also scheduled for both shows are Opry members Jeannie Seely, The Whites and Riders In The Sky. In fact, with 8 Opry members scheduled, there are only two guest artists: the legendary Gene Watson, and making his Opry debut, James Carothers.

Friday January 17
Early Show
7:00: Bill Anderson (host); Jeannie Seely; James Carothers
7:30: Ricky Skaggs (host); The Whites; Riders In The Sky
8:00: Vince Gill (host); Gene Watson
8:30: Connie Smith (host); Alan Jackson

Late show
9:30: Connie Smith (host); Alan Jackson
10:00: Jeannie Seely (host); James Carothers; Riders In The Sky
10:30: Ricky Skaggs (host); The Whites
11:00: Vince Gill (host); Gene Watson

What stands out on the Friday night show is that of the 10 artists on the first show, 5 are Hall of Fame members and 8 of the 10 are members of the Opry. With Bill just doing the first show, that reduces each number by one for the late show.

There is one Opry show on Saturday night with Opry members Connie Smith, Mike Snider, John Conlee, Riders In The Sky, Bobby Osborne, Jeannie Seely and Crystal Gayle. Guesting will be the newly married couple Michael Ray and Carly Pearce, Marcus King, Maggie Rose, and making her Opry debut, bluegrass star Missy Raines.

Saturday January 18
7:00: Connie Smith (host); Mike Snider; Marcus King
7:30: John Conlee (host); Missy Raines; Maggie Rose
Intermission
8:15: Riders In The Sky (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Carly Pearce; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Jeannie Seely (host); Michael Ray; Crystal Gayle

A full line-up of 12 artists on the Saturday show, of whom 7 are Opry members
_________________________________________________________________

As mentioned, James Carothers will be making his Opry debut on Friday night. And why is that?

In 2018, James was the winner of the WSM Road Show, resulting in the opportunity to make a Grand Ole Opry appearance with Alan Jackson. It took a couple of years to line the appearance up, but on Friday night, it will finally be taking place.

James Carothers, is known best for his stone-country originals and spot-on impressions of several of country music’s greatest icons.

In 2015, James left a technician job at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and returned to his native state of Tennessee to pursue a country music career at the unlikely ripe-old-age of 33. George Jones’ own widow, Nancy, personally hired James for his first steady gig at the George Jones Museum in Nashville, allowing him to make a living playing music and to hone his hobby-turned-profession in an accelerated fashion. Since then, James has played several shows each week in downtown Nashville at places like The George Jones and AJ’s Good Time Bar when he’s not on the road, having played over 1500 public, corporate, and private events since January 2015.

In addition to supporting his young family and connecting with other musicians and songwriters, performing downtown has helped James build a large fan base of folks drawn through the doors by the booming voice echoing down Broadway and 2nd Avenue. Playing so many shows in a relatively short time-frame in a city with an excess of raw talent forced him to sharpen his stage show quickly and continue to refine the thing he’s always enjoyed most — entertaining and interacting with his audiences in a way that leaves most people feeling like they’ve made a new friend.

In addition to his Opry debut with Alan Jackson, he also got the nod to open select engagements on Jackson’s “Honky Tonk Highway Tour.” Over the past few years, he has enjoyed playing several opening slots, festivals, fairs, and private events in locations all across the United States and has even had the opportunity to travel to Canada, Japan, Scotland, and Norway for shows.

James released a new album called Songs and Stories on November 22, 2019. Previous releases include Still Country, Still King: A Tribute to George Jones (September 2018), his first full-length original album Relapse (May 2017), and an EP Honky Tonk Land June 2014).

While James Carothers will be making his Opry debut on Friday night, Missy Raines will be making her Opry debut on Saturday night. Missy has appeared on the Opry previously but as a member of Claire Lynch's group. This will be her first appearance heading up her own group.

Missy Raines was named 2019 International Bluegrass Music Association Bass Player of the Year, for the 8th time, more than any other bass player in the history of the organization. Missy has proven herself without doubt as an iconic bluegrass instrumentalist. But with her newest release, Royal Traveller, Raines has stepped into the spotlight as a songwriter for the first time. The album digs deep into Raines’ family life and her upbringing in West Virginia. Featuring previous and current members of her live band, as well as cameos from other bluegrass greats such as Stuart Duncan and Tim O’Brien, the album is a gorgeous look into the perspective, history, and musical influences of one of Nashville’s most beloved musicians, Missy Raines.

In 1998, Missy became the first woman to win IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year award and she went on to win the title repeatedly for the next several years. Royal Traveller highlights this particular piece of Raines’ history with the stand out track “Swept Away”, which features the 5 first women to win IBMA instrumentalist awards, Raines, Brown, Sierra Hull, Becky Buller, and Molly Tuttle. “Swept Away” was named the 2018 IBMA Recorded Event of the Year.

As Missy said, "I’m excited to share that I will be debuting (with my own band) on the Grand Ole Opry Saturday, January 18, 2020.  I will have an AMAZING band with me including Alison Brown on banjo, Ben Garnett on guitar, Casey Campbell on mandolin and John Mailander on fiddle. I have had the honor to play the Opry during my stint with Claire Lynch, and as a duo with Jim Hurst, and with a few other folks on bass, but this will be the first time under just my name.  Yea, I’m pretty stoked!  What a way to start the New Year off!"
_______________________________________________________________________

And now, from the 3rd weekend in January 25 years ago, Saturday January 21, 1995. It was a special night at the Grand Ole Opry as Brother Oswald was made an official Opry member. There were two great shows that night and I was lucky to have been at both of them.

1st show
6:30: Grandpa Jones (host); Mike Snider
6:45: Bill Monroe (host); Bill Carlisle, Bill Carlisle, Jr., and George Riddle
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); The Whites; Stonewall Jackson; Jeanne Pruett; Jim Ed Brown
7:30; Porter Wagoner (host); Marty Stuart; Connie Smith; Brother Oswald; Jimmy Dickens and the Opry cast
8:00: Bill Anderson (host); Jimmy C Newman; Boxcar Willie; Charlie Louvin; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); The Four Guys; Billy Walker; Doug Stone; Osborne Brothers

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Wilma Lee Cooper; Osborne Brothers; Stu Phillips; The Whites
10:00: Grandpa Jones (host); Roy Drusky
10:15: Bill Monroe (host); Ray Pillow
10:30: Marty Stuart (host); Boxcar Willie
10:45: Jimmy Dickens (host); Del Reeves; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Connie Smith; Charlie Walker; Doug Stone
11:30: Bill Anderson (host); The Four Guys; Jack Greene; Johnny Russell

What I remember most about that night was that there was no announcement prior to the show that Brother Oswald was going to become an Opry member.

While Beecher Ray Oswald officially became an Opry member in 1995, at the age of 83, he had been a part of the family since 1939 as a member of Roy Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys. It was after he joined Roy's group that he became known as Brother Oswald, posing as the brother of Rachel Veach. While he would clown around as Brother Oswald, he was a very talented dobro player who helped define the Acuff sound.

After Roy passed away in 1992, he continued to perform on the Opry, along with Charlie Collins, as "Os and Charlie." After joining the Opry's cast in 1995, Brother Oswald continued as an Opry member until his death in 2002. While not considered an Opry member the entire 62+ years he was at the Opry, he was one of the few who performed on the Opry that long.

Now from 50 years ago, Saturday January 17, 1970:

7:30: Bill Monroe (host); Ray Pillow; Jean Shepard; Stu Phillips; Del Wood; The Four Guys
8:00: Lester Flatt (host); Jimmy C Newman; Grandpa Jones; Crook Brothers;
8:30: Roy Acuff (host); Earl Scruggs Revue; Archie Campbell; Bob Luman; Bill Carlisle
9:00: Ernest Tubb (host); Billy Walker; Marion Worth; Jim and Jesse; Stringbean; Fruit Jar Drinkers
9:30: Hank Locklin (host); Willis Brothers; Ernie Ashworth; Margie Bowes; Tommy Cash
10:00: Bill Monroe (host); Jimmy C Newman; Jean Shepard; Stu Phillips; Ray Pillow
10:15: Roy Acuff (host); Earl Scruggs Revue; Bill Carlisle; Del Wood
10:30: Lester Flatt (host); Bob Luman; Grandpa Jones; Jim and Jesse
10:45: Ernest Tubb (host); Hank Locklin; Archie and Phil Campbell; Crook Brothers
11:00: Billy Walker (host); Willis Brothers; Marion Worth; Stringbean; Sam McGee
11:30: Marty Robbins (host); Margie Bowes; Ernie Ashworth; Don Winters

There you have it for this week. As always, thanks for reading and commenting and I hope everyone enjoys the Grand Ole Opry this weekend.