Here is the Grand Ole Opry line-up for this weekend:
Friday April 24
7:00: Bill Anderson(host); The Whites; Emily West
7:30: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jimmy C. Newman; Cherryholmes
8:00: Lorrie Morgan(host); Jean Shepard; Jack Greene
8:30: Marty Stuart(host); Mike Snider; Connie Smith
A very solid line-up for the Friday show. Interesting to see Bill Anderson leading off the show. You usually do not see him in that spot, as he normally is the host for the last segment of the show. Always good to see Marty Stuart devoting much more time to the Opry and nice to see Lorrie Morgan appearing. She is another of the artists that has been making more appearances at the Opry over the last several years. Just too bad that the show is only 2 hours.
Saturday April 25:
First Show
7:00: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jim Ed Brown; Sunny Sweeney
7:30: Mike Snider(host); Jean Shepard; Jimmy C. Newman; Jennifer Hanson
8:00: Marty Stuart(host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Connie Smith; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Bill Anderson(host); Jeannie Seely; Raul Malo
Second Show:
9:30: Jimmy Dickens(host); The Whites; Sunny Sweeney
10:00: Mike Snider(host); Jean Shepard; Jim Ed Brown; Jennifer Hanson
10:30: Marty Stuart(host); Stonewall Jackson; Connie Smith; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Bill Anderson(host); Jeannie Seely;Raul Malo
Another good, solid line-up for the Saturday night Opry. Jamie O"Neal is a very talent female singer and Raul Malo has a new album out and does some very good work. I have noticed over the past several months that a couple of other veteran artists seem to be limited to 2 of the 3 shows over a weekend. Those would include Jim Ed Brown, The Whites, Jeannie Seely and Jimmy C. Newman. Connie Smith also seems to have fallen into that group on the weekends that Marty Stuart is not on. Then of course you have the artists that only do 1 show during the weekend. Those would include Stonewall Jackson, Jan Howard, Jack Greene(most times); Bobby Osborne and Jesse McReynolds. With the shows now only 2 hours, it is tough to get spots. Finally, Mike Snider continues to be in the regular rotation of hosting segments on most weekends. He seem to have moved ahead of Jim Ed Brown, Jimmy C. Newman and Jeannie Seely on the hosting list. Again, another mystery of the Opry is how Pete Fisher decides who hosts a segment. After Bill Anderson, Jimmy Dickens, and now, Marty Stuart, you never know. A couple of weeks ago, it was a loaded line-up, and he had Mel Tillis, who makes infrequent appearances, hosting a segment over Opry regulars Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill.
Finally, this weekend, Stonewall Jackson is the host of the midnight jamboree at the Ernest Tubb record show. Always free and always a great show. I will be in Nashville next weekend.
Enjoy that trip to Nashville.
ReplyDeleteHal Durham once said in a letter to my Opry fan mother that Hall of Famers almost always host. That may explain Tillis ... but not Vince Gill! Vince once said hosting on the Opry is the only thing that makes him more nervous than being on the Opry.
I think part of the reason for Snider hosting is what he does. He's a comedian, so he can finish his jokes and get out, and he has a string band, so they can be done quickly. Jeannie Seely still seems to be the main woman host but yields to Lorrie.
I'm an Opry fan who just found your blog. What's going on with the WSM web site? Even when it's working you can't access the Opry archives.
ReplyDeleteMr. Donnell, I won't speak for Fayfare, but I think there is a way on the website that you can get in touch with the management via email to find out or report what is going on. That would be the best bet, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's great to see another Opry fan here!
Robert: Thanks for checking out my blog. I hope that you will be a regular visitor and I look forward to your comments. Welcome!!!
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