Updated: Lorrie Morgan has been added for Saturday night.
After a star packed show last Saturday night, the Opry returns this week with a line-up that has been more typical of the show as of late. There is again one show on Friday night and just one show on Saturday night. This weekend the featured guest artists include Clay Walker, Darryl Worley and Blake Shelton. Ronnie Milsap makes a return appearance on Saturday night. Like Emmylou Harris from last week, this will be Ronnie's second appearance in a month. He is another of those artists who lives in Nashville and has been spending more time off the road, so you would think that he could be a more frequent guest at the Opry. Now for the line-ups:
Friday January 22
7:00: John Conlee(host); Jeannie Seely; Riders In The Sky; Clay Walker
7:30: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Darryl Worley
8:00: Marty Stuart(host); Connie Smith; Point Of Grace
8:30: Mike Snider(host); Jan Howard; Jim Ed Brown; Blake Shelton
Saturday January 23
7:00: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jimmy C. Newman; Lorrie Morgan
7:30: John Conlee(host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Jack Greene; Chuck Wicks
8:00: Marty Stuart(host); Charlie Louvin; Connie Smith; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Ronnie Milsap(host); The Whites; Mike Snider
Good solid line-ups but nothing that is going to make someone out of state drop everything they are doing to come to town to see it. Also, Ronnie Milsap will be signing copies of his CD at the Opry Originals shop downtown prior to the Opry on Saturday.
Finally, it has been reported the Charlie Daniels suffered a minor stroke over the weekend. He is back home and everything seems to be ok and he is expected to be back touring by the end of February. Hard to believe that he is 73!!! The legends of country music continue to age on us.
I will say that Lorrie's presence improves matters, but I still think they would be, as discussed in another section of the blog, much better off with a few more old-timers in the lineup. Of course, Lorrie is a 25-year member, so she may now qualify! And to think I remember the night she joined, and how everyone in the place was bawling because she was George Morgan's little girl, and she came out carrying a bouquet from, as she described him to Ralph Emery, "Uncle Jimmy," meaning Newman.
ReplyDeleteAny show with Connie Smith and Marty Stuart is a good night!
ReplyDeleteDid you have any trouble getting wsmonline? It keeps telling me the link is broken. Did they change their website??
ReplyDeleteIt was working as of Saturday afternoon. I couldn't get the Friday Night Opry, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI was also unable to get the Friday Night Opry. Everyonce in a while, WSM seems to have that problem.
ReplyDeleteNo Dickens on Saturday night. I did not listen on Friday(shame on me), but was he on Friday and if so, did he sound ok or make any comments about his health? If not, who replaced him. On Saturday, Mike Snider hosted the opening segment, which kind of suprised me. I thought Lorrie Morgan would get the host spot.
ReplyDeleteHe was not on Friday. I didn't hear any comments about his absence. As far as Mike Snider hosting, it could be that Lorrie Morgan had a committment or something that precluded her from hosting.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I wonder why often times Mike Snider hosts when there are bigger names and more recognizable people(to the average fan) on the show. Last Saturday, he hosted twice on a show that included non-hosts Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley and Emmylou Harris. He often hosts over Jim Ed Brown who is practically a HOFer. I would think to generate buzz and excitement during the show you would have your biggest names hosting when the big red curtain goes up.
It's always a worry when The Potato isn't there, but I also wonder if at times it's a matter of being cautious, given his age, not to take risks.
ReplyDeleteAbout Mike Snider hosting: I have noticed that and suspected that what makes him appealing to Pete Fisher to drop into the hosting slot is a couple of factors:
1. To promote his appearances during the summer.
2. Because he does instrumentals and comedy, he can cut off what he is doing to sign off on time. By contrast, if one of the others is in the middle of a song, s/he won't stop at the :30 mark, understandably.
You are right about the reasons on why Mike Snider might be hosting a segment. But, I also agree with the other comment that there are bigger names that could also be hosting. I know that being the host for an Opry segment used to be a big thing (just as Jeannie Seely who tried for years to be a host of a segment). At today's Opry, I don't know how important it is to be a host. I think with many of the Opry legends, they probably feel that they are lucky just to be on the Opry anymore.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I noticed that Dollar General is now sponsoring the 7:00 segment on the Saturday show.
On the sponsors, Humana got the 8:00 show, which is considered the prime time. It is the presenting sponsor. The other sponsors are Cracker Barrel, US Bank, Bass Pro Shops, and Dollar General. Martha White appears to get in there sometimes on the last segment of the second show, 11:00, when there is a second show.
ReplyDelete