Jimmy Dickens is off the line-up for both Friday and Saturday night. With that comes numerous changes in the line-up including Ray Pillow hosting a segment.
The Grand Ole Opry has posted their line-ups for this weekend's shows. There is one show on Friday night and one show on Saturday night, both at the Ryman Auditorium. The highlight of this weekend's shows is the appearance of Loretta Lynn on Saturday night.
Here are the line-ups:
Friday June 25
7:00: Jeannie Seely(host); Jimmy C. Newman; Randy Kohrs
7:30: Ray Pillow(host); Jack Greene; Sunny Sweeney
INTERMISSION
8:15: Jim Ed Brown(host); Stu Phillips; Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Joey+Rory
8:45: Mike Snider(host); Connie Smith; Raul Malo
Saturday June 26
7:00: The Whites(host); Connie Smith; Sam Bush
7:30: Jeannie Seely(host); Stonewall Jackson; Jack Greene; Sara Jarosz
INTERMISSION
8:15: Jim Ed Brown(host); Jan Howard; Steel Magnolia; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Bill Anderson(host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Loretta Lynn
Finally, the host for this week's Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree is Leona Williams. This will also be a sad night as another Nashville traditon ends as this will be the final Midnight Jamboree that will actually take place at midnight. As was previously announced, starting next week the show will be taped at 10:00pm and will be broadcast at midnight on WSM the following week. I don't know why the one week delay, but from what I heard, the changing of the show time at the record shop is for a number of reasons, and all seem related to the Opry only doing one show on Saturday night.
With the Opry ending at 9:00pm and the Midnight Jamboree not starting until Midnight, there was too long a gap between the two shows and attendance was down for the Jamboree. I know from attending many of the shows it was hit and miss. I have been there when Bill Anderson and Marty Stuart had standing room only crowds and then at other times with as few as 50 people there. Many of the people who would go to the Jamboree would go directly from the Opry, but it just seems that many did not want to wait around that long. I also heard that it was the same story for some of the Opry stars. They did not want to wait around 3 hours to do the Midnight Jamboree, so there seemed a problem in booking hosts that also appeared on the Opry.
We will see how this plays out. I understand the reasons, but I just hate to see another tradition in Nashville change. Even though the show time will change at the theater, the show will still be played on WSM at midnight.
This is the first I'd heard about the Jamboree's change. That's too bad, but I can see the disadvantages of 3 hours between shows. I guess that also means there won't ever be 2 Opry shows on Saturday night again???? Maybe that's been announced too and I just hadn't heard it either.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame! The tragic downward spiral continues. Since the Opry has been gutted (figuratively as well as literally) it's a shame that the Jamboree could not be somehow transformed into the primary performance venue for all the traditional performers. After close to 50 visits (1000 miles round trip) to Nashville over a 35 year period it's so sad to realize there's nothing left to return for anymore. Nothing lasts forever I guess........
ReplyDeleteDavid McCormick of ET's Record Shop says they may do some different times, and I took that to mean that they should shift if the Opry did two shows. I don't like the change, either, but I certainly understand it.
ReplyDeleteI talked to one of the employees at the Music Valley Shop, who I have known over the past several years, and she told me that things have been pretty slow there since the flood and the Opry moving back to the Ryman Auditorium. She also said that the attendance has been down for the midnight jamboree.
ReplyDeleteI know that they are trying to hang on and this is one way that could help. One thought that I had was that the midnight jamboree tends to run over its hour time almost every week and I seem to remember that the record shop has to pay for that additional air time. By going to a taped show, I am sure they could edit it slightly to keep it in the one hour time frame, thus saving some money.
Looking at the Opry website, they originally had 9:30 shows listed in July, but now it is just one show every Saturday night until September, then several 9:30 shows are listed. And, if they are not back at the Opry House, I would expect those to go away also.
Attendance at the Ryman is way, way down right now. There was a real hit on the convention business with the hotel closed and I think some people are just waiting for the Opry to get back to the Opry House.
Like you Michael, and I emailed the record shop with the same comments, I really don't like what they are doing, just from a traditional standpoint, but I understand that from a business decision, they have to do it. I would rather have a taped show then no show at all.
In some ways, it is probably like the 1979's when the midnight jamboree was downtown and then moved to the music row shop until the present shop was opened. I know that the crowds were really down then also.
I guess from a business standpoint moving the Midnite Jamboree to 10P was necessary but it's almost like watching an old friend on his death bed. We are losing some of our most precious national treasures and I really fear for the future not only of Nashville and country music but of our country as well.
ReplyDelete