The Grand Ole Opry has posted the schedule for the shows this weekend. As they finish up October, there will be 1 show on Friday night and 2 shows on Saturday night. After this weekend, it is back to the 1 show Saturdays. Also, this will be the last weekend at the Opry House until February as the Opry moves to the Ryman Auditorium for the next 3 months.
Saturday night will feature the return of Clint Black to the Opry stage. He is scheduled for both shows. Saturday night will also feature the Opry honoring Charlie Daniels, who is celebrating his 75th birthday. (wow, where have the years gone?) Non-Opry members Gretchen Wilson and The Grascals will also be on.
The Friday Night Opry will have Opry member Diamond Rio, along with frequent Opry guests Mark Wills and Mandy Barnett. Mandy will again be signing her new "Sweet Dreams" album, along with "Winter Wonderland." In case you are wondering about the huge promotion of Mandy's new album, it is because it is being distributed by "Opry Music, a division of Grand Ole Opry LLC". The album was produced by Steve Gibson, who is the Opry's music director, and the executive producers are Steve Buchanan, Pete Fisher and Sally Williams. Interesting that they would pick Mandy for this project.
Friday October 27, 2011
7:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Jesse McReynolds; Daryle Singletary
7:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; Mandy Barnett
INTERMISSION
8:15: Mike Snider (host); Jack Greene; Mark Wills
8:45: John Conlee (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top-X-Press; Diamond Rio
Saturday October 28, 2011
1st show:
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); The Whites; The Grascals
7:30: Mike Snider (host); Lee Greenwood; Clint Black
8:00: John Conlee (host); Connie Smith; Gretchen Wilson; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Charlie Daniels Band
2nd show:
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; The Grascals
10:00: The Whites (host); Lee Greenwood; Clint Black
10:30: John Conlee (host); Connie Smith; Gretchen Wilson; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Charlie Daniels Band
The are 12 acts on the Friday Night Opry, of which 9 are Opry members, while there are 11 acts on each of the Saturday shows, of whom 8 are Opry members.
The Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree will be hosted by David Frizzell. That should be a fine show coming on after the Opry.
Tonight's Opry Country Classics will be the last show for this series. This time around, there were 4 classic shows in October. Here is the line up for this show:
Host: Bill Cody
Spotlight Artist: Ricky Skaggs
Also featuring: Lynn Anderson; Mandy Barnett; Jimmy C Newman; T.G. Sheppard; James Wesley.
It's nice to see Lynn Anderson back on. She was on the classics show that I saw last year and she looked and sounded great.
Here is the line up for the Tuesday Night Opry on November 1st, at the Ryman Auditorium:
7:00: Jeannie Seely; Edens Edge
7:30: Jimmy Dickens; Phil Vassar
INTERMISSION
8:15: Riders In The Sky; Rodney Atkins
8:45: Rascal Flatts
On a final note, Vince Gill's new studio album was released this week. Called "Guitar Slinger", in my opinion it is Vince's best album yet. I have listened to the cuts over and over and it is just great. And Vince has been all over television this week promoting it. I know he was on the Imus Show this morning, and has been on pretty much all the other morning show. "Threaten Me With Heaven" has placed on the charts and "If I Die" might be the best Vince song yet. It has a strong message. If you get a chance, check it out.
Then that album REALLY must be good.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why they haven't just made Mandy Barnett a member, as often as she's on and as connected as she is to the Opry. I know she hasn't had a hit record, but still.
I did a quick count and Mandy has been on the Opry 21 times this year, if you assume she will be there tonight. That is the most for any non-Opry member. And of the 65+ Opry members, only 15 have made more appearances than Mandy.
ReplyDeleteWhat is interesting is that as you look back at the Opry line ups from the 1960s, 1970s, etc, there is always someone like Mandy in those years, as in someone who is not an Opry member but who seems to make lots of Opry appearances. Then one day, they basically fade away and are not on the Opry anymore.
Mandy has a great voice and I do wish her lots of success. She seems to work hard but the business is tough. I know that in the past, the Opry has made people members who have never had hits or have had just one. Stonewall Jackson comes to mind as having no hits, while Stu Phillips comes to mind as having had just a small hit. Stonewall went on to have a fine career in country music, while Stu's career went nowhere. That is the risk when you add someone as a member early in their career.
Until Mandy has that big hit (and the chances of that happening at this stage of her career are small), I think she will be right there with Rebecca Lynn Howard and a few others as the standbys that the Opry will call if someone cancels out of a show or if there is a need for a female singer on the show. I still find it interesting that the Opry would promote her on their record label over others.
That they are promoting her in that way is the reason I think she should be a member. To put it another way, if the Opry's label is promoting non-Opry members, it cheapens the membership still further.
ReplyDeleteIf you think about it, Lorrie Morgan became a member without a hit record, and that paid off. But she had been around there forever, and I have seen lineups where she was a guest long after her father died.