Mid-Week Opry Shows/Birthday Weekend Recap

Back from spending most of last week in Nashville and some random thoughts on the Grand Ole Opry's 93rd birthday weekend, which I thought was one of the best in years.

Starting with the Opry Country Classics show on Thursday night, the show was excellent with Ricky Skaggs as the spotlight artist. Kentucky Thunder was in good form, playing a little bluegrass and a little country. The show was dedicated to Hall of Fame members, and among the members listed were Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, as well as the newest members who will be officially enshrined on Sunday night: Ricky Skaggs, Dottie West and Johnny Gimble.

Also appearing were two Hall of Fame members, Charlie McCoy and Don Schlitz. Charlie did "Orange Blossom Special," in his unique way, and Don did two of the great songs he has written, "The Gambler" and "Forever and Ever, Amen." It was my first time to see Don and he has his own unique style in singing his songs. And he was really good. Also appearing were Jeannie Seely, Chuck Mead and Mandy Barnett, along with host Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers. I thought one of the highlights was Larry, Steve and Rudy singing "Help Me." It has been a while since I have heard Larry sing it, and he sang it in tribute to Johnny and June Carter Cash. It was pretty much a full house for the show and I believe everyone left fully satisfied.

While downtown on Thursday I spent some time at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Shop manager Terry Tyson is doing a great job and it was nice to see a full inventory in the shop. One of the treats was seeing the Loretta Lynn exhibit that was set up where the stage used to be (the stage is still there, just moved back a bit). The exhibit is well done. The shop had some good foot traffic inside and it appeared that customers were spending some cash. With the Ernest Tubb Record Shop a Nashville landmark, it was nice to see it doing better. I know a year ago, I was very concerned.

Going to the Friday Night Opry, I noticed a few things right away, with the new Opry Shop and Ticket Office the two that stood out. The company has spent over $20 million on the new shop and it is much improved from the old one. More inventory and more room to move around. The ticket office is right next store to it, which makes it convenient for customers. The location of the shop is an extension of the Opry House, in the location where the old ticket office was by the Roy Acuff house.

The other change that is immediately noticed is the new parking lot dedicated to those attending a show at the Grand Ole Opry House. The lot is in the area between the hotel and where the old TNN studio used to be. It holds 1100 cars and there is a bridge/walkway that connects the parking lot to the Opry House. It does cost $10 to park. Personally, I parked in the mall parking lot as I usually do, which is free, but for those who don't want to drive around on a Friday or Saturday night looking for a space, the new lot will work just fine. There is still some construction work going on in the area and the traffic flow is a little different, but the improvements are nice.

I took the time to visit the Les Leverette exhibit in the Roy Acuff house. As others have commented, the exhibit, though small, is excellent. There is a Roy Acuff video and a video with Les, where he shares some of the stories behind the pictures. The exhibit is due to close at the end of the month, and I have heard that they might be using the Acuff house for future exhibits. The cost was $10, which I thought was pretty reasonable.

As mentioned, both the Friday Night Opry and Saturday's Grand Ole Opry were excellent, with the Saturday birthday shows much better than what has been presented the past several years. The only disappointment were the cancellations by Connie Smith on both shows Friday night and Bobby Bare cancelling on Saturday. In addition, Joe Diffie did just the first show on Friday after originally being advertised for both shows. Connie was not replaced on Friday, with Old Crow Medicine Show getting the last 30 minutes for themselves, while LEVON replaced Bobby on Saturday night. That was an easy replacement as they were playing in the Opry Plaza prior to the Opry show.

The Friday Night Opry featured Opry members Pam Tillis, Mike Snider, Charley Pride, John Conlee, Joe Diffie, Riders In The Sky, Terri Clark, Jeannie Seely and Old Crow Medicine Show. The only non-Opry member was Morgan Evans, who is from Australia and was appearing in support of his new album. Each of the Opry members were in good voice and it was nice that several of them did different numbers on both shows. The birthday cake was rolled out at the end of both shows. The first show was pretty much sold out while the second show had seats open in the upper balcony and the wings. As usual, Charley Pride received a huge ovation and Old Crow Medicine Show kept the crowd excited with their brand of music. No complaints at all.

The Saturday afternoon birthday concert featured Charley Pride. The show lasted about 75 minutes and Charley went through all of his #1 hits and more. The crowd was typical for the birthday show, about 2,000 I would estimate. Watching Charley work all four Opry shows and the Opry concert, it was hard to remember that he is well over 80 years old, and still out there doing full shows. He even commented that they were working him hard over the weekend. In addition to the birthday concert, there was activity going on in the Opry Plaza. There was entertainment all afternoon, with food trucks and games. The only down side was the weather. After seeing sunny skies and temperatures in the 80's the previous weekend, Saturday saw temperatures struggling to get up to 60, which meant sweaters and jackets for everyone. The crowd was good but I think the weather kept it a little down.

Saturday's Grand Ole Opry featured Opry members John Conlee, Charley Pride, Jeannie Seely, Mike Snider, Bill Anderson, Trace Adkins, Old Crow Medicine Show, Riders In The Sky, as well as Bobby Osborne and Larry Gatlin on the second show. The only non Opry members were LEVON and Charles Esten, both of whom did an excellent job. This was my first time seeing LEVON and I thought they were good. As to everyone else, Trace Adkins received a great ovation, as did Charley Pride again. The final half hour with Old Crow Medicine Show and Riders In The Sky was outstanding. There was a special presentation of a Roy Acuff fiddle from Woody Paul to Ketch Secor, and both groups performed together to close out both shows. Oh, and on the first show, Bill Anderson missed his introduction as he was nowhere in site when the curtain opened. His band was on stage looking around and after several minutes you could see a couple of staff members running up the hallway. Ends up that Bill came walking out, saying he thought he wasn't on until 8:15 (not realizing there was no intermission and his segment started at 8:00), and that he was in the restroom. A classic Opry moment.

To finish it up, I met a lot of people this past weekend. Many of those I had met before, but I also met some new ones. My thanks and appreciation to all. I also met a few associated with the Opry and all were so nice. I am continually surprised when I meet anyone associated with the Opry and they talk about how they follow this blog. Just blows my mind sometimes. That and the fact that they recognize me from my pictures. The staff at the Opry does such a great job getting everyone in and out, and the show itself is amazing. Each time I go, it seems that something new is added at the Opry House to make the show more enjoyable. While we always don't agree with the direction of the show, I will never doubt the dedication of the staff or the artists, who all work hard to make the show what it is. Again, my thanks to all I met (no names please). I look forward to the next visit.
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Now to the mid-week Opry shows. First, it is hard to believe but Craig Morgan will be recognized for 10 years of Opry membership on Tuesday night. Craig always does a fine job while performing. Joining him on Tuesday night will be Opry members Bill Anderson and Charlie Daniels Band. Getting the final slot on both shows will be Kelsea Ballerini, who has a string of Opry appearances booked for the rest of the year.


Tuesday Night Opry, October 16
1st show
7:00: Bill Anderson; Luke Combs; Charlie Daniels Band
8:00: Jon Pardi; Craig Morgan; Kelsea Ballerini

2nd show
9:30: Bill Anderson; Town Mountain; Charlie Daniels Band
10:30: Jon Pardi; Craig Morgan; Kelsea Ballerini


Opry Country Classics, Thursday October 18
Host: Larry Gatlin
Spotlight Artist: Bobby Bare
Also Appearing: Craig Morgan; Maggie Rose; Leroy Van Dyke

Nice to see Leroy Van Dyke appearing. I saw him a few years ago, and he still has it. He is one of those former Opry members who left the show in the 1960s for failing to meet the attendance requirements. Nice to see that he still occasionally comes back.