2019 Year In Review

Here you go. A little later than usual. My apologies.

2019 is officially in the books and with another year upon us, it is time once again for my annual "Year in Review" of the Grand Ole Opry.

In my 2018 review, I commented on the positive changes that Sally Williams was bringing to the Opry after her promotion to General Manager of the show. Little did any of us know that her time at the Opry would be very short as by summer she was gone and Dan Rogers was named the new Vice-President/Executive Producer of the Grand Ole Opry. This was a very popular move as Dan had been associated with the Opry since 1999 and is someone extremely well liked and respected. He also understands the history and the legacy of the Opry.

The other news from 2019 was the continued addition of new members to the cast as Mark Wills, Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Combs became Opry members, bringing the total to 68. That adds up to a total of nine new members in the past three years. 68 members is the highest number of Opry members in several decades. While several Opry members battled health issues the past year,
no Opry members passed away.

The big event for the Opry in 2019, in addition to the new members, was Dolly Parton's 50th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry went all out in the celebration with "Dolly Week" a huge success. 2018 saw the Opry promote the Roy Acuff exhibit and 2019 was Dolly's turn. What will 2020 bring?

Now let's look at the numbers:

The Opry ran a total of 231 shows in 2019, which was a few more then in 2018. The breakdown:

Friday Night Opry: 63 (+1)
Saturday Grand Ole Opry: 66 (-2)
Tuesday Night Opry: 51 (-2)
Wednesday Night Opry: 25 (+13)
Thursday Opry Country Classics: 23 (-)
Saturday Matinee: 1 (-)
Tuesday Matinee: 1 (-1)

Then there was the Thursday show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.

Looking at the schedule for 2020, it looks like the emphasis on mid-week shows will continue as a full slate of Wednesday shows continues on the schedule. Additionally, the Opry will not be returning to the Ryman Auditorium in November and December, having made the decision to only return to the downtown location in January 2021. With the Opry staying at the Opry House for the holiday season, I would expect more mid-week and perhaps a few matinee shows to accommodate those coming to Nashville during that time.

While looking at the Opry's members, and who appeared most often, it is once again the veterans and legends who are carrying the heavy load and supporting the Opry week after week. Looking at the Top 10:

1) Jeannie Seely/Riders In The Sky: 100
3) Mike Snider: 88
4) John Conlee: 78
5) The Whites: 73
6) Connie Smith: 70
7) Bill Anderson: 67
8) Bobby Osborne: 53
9) Ricky Skaggs: 47
10) Dailey & Vincent: 45

The only change from 2019 was the addition of Dailey & Vincent to the list with The Gatlin Brothers dropping off. The big movers were Riders In The Sky, who increased their appearances by 25, while Mike Snider and Connie Smith both saw drop offs, with Connie missing a number of weeks with health issues.

The "unofficial" standard under Pete Fisher was 10 yearly appearances by each member, while lately the number seems to have dropped to 6. Going with 10, which I don't think is asking too much, here are those who made that cut:

Jesse McReynolds: 41
Gatlin Brothers: 39
Mark Wills: 38
Chris Janson, Old Crow Medicine Show: 20
Vince Gill: 18
Del McCoury Band: 15
Crystal Gayle, Craig Morgan: 12
Dustin Lynch, Oak Ridge Boys, Carrie Underwood: 11
Trace Adkins: 10

That adds up to 23 of the Opry's 68 members who made the list.

It is really nice to see some of the Opry newer members such as Dailey & Vincent, Mark Wills, Chris Janson, Crystal Gayle and Dustin Lynch fulfilling their commitments.

As to the rest of the Opry's members who made 2019 appearances:

Charlie Daniels: 9
Terri Clark, Kelsea Ballerini: 8
Eddie Montgomery, Steve Wariner: 7
Pam Tillis: 6
Diamond Rio, Joe Diffie, Little Big Town, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner: 5
Charley Pride, Travis Tritt: 4
Emmylou Harris, Martina McBride, Lorrie Morgan, Marty Stuart, Keith Urban, Luke Combs: 3
Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Rascal Flatts, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Young: 2
Clint Black, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley: 1

Meanwhile, two of the Opry's members who no longer perform, Jan Howard and Randy Travis, did make several walk-on appearances.

There were five Opry members still active who made no 2019 Opry appearances: Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, Ronnie Milsap and Blake Shelton.

The final 10 Opry members who are either retired or are ill and do not appear any longer include Bobby Bare, Tom T Hall, Stonewall Jackson, Hal Ketchum, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Stu Phillips, Ray Pillow, Jeannie Pruett and Ricky Van Shelton.

As to non-members, a total of 325 (give or take one or two) made their way to the Opry stage in 2019 up from 290 the year before. Of those, 66 made their Grand Ole Opry debuts. Here is a stat for you: with all the discussion on the male domination of country music and the radio air-plays, of the 325 non-members who performed on the Opry last year, only 87 were female artists. And as with the year before, about 50% of the performances on the Opry were made by non-Opry members.

The Top 10:

1) Gary Mule Deer, Charles Esten; Henry Cho: 19
2) Chonda Pierce: 15
3) Charlie Worsham: 14
4) Michael Ray: 13
5) Carly Pearce, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Don Schlitz: 12
6) Williams & Ree, Dusty Slay: 11
7) T. Graham Brown, William Michael Morgan: 10
8) Mandy Barnett, Maggie Rose, Sawyer Brown, Kalie Shorr, Gene Watson, Charlie McCoy: 9
9) The Isaacs, The Swon Brothers, Eric Paslay, Jimmie Allen, Levi Hummon: 8
10) Kathy Mattea, Elizabeth Cook, King Calaway, Exile, Tyler Rich, Jason Crabb, Abby Anderson, Tegan Marie: 7

For those who have not been to the Opry House in the past year, it looks great as the Opry continues to expand their brand. The expanded gift shop and better organized ticket office are nice surprises, as have been the general upgrades in the Opry House itself, in regards to lighting, video and sound quality. The backstage tours and the virtual theater have been big successes.

On the negative side, ticket prices continue to increase at a rapid rate, and we have started to see a two-tiered pricing structure, with higher prices on nights where a "big name" act performs. We have seen that specifically with Alan Jackson, Luke Combs and Carrie Underwood. That would appear to be the trend moving forward.

Looking toward 2020, I expect exciting things to be happening at the Opry as the show enters its 95th year. I have a great deal of confidence in Dan Rogers. In my couple of discussions with him, I feel the excitement he has for the show and while not saying anything, I think he has big plans as the Opry continues toward year 100. We have already seen Gene Watson become the Opry's newest member and I think there are more to follow. I also think we are going to see an effort made to get some of the Opry's long-lost missing members to come back. Alan Jackson has already returned in 2019 and there have already been more appearances by Vince Gill and Marty Stuart. Ricky Skaggs continues his long support of the Opry and new member Luke Combs is off to a promising start.

As I conclude, and I mention this every year, my thanks again to all who read and follow the blog, especially those who take the time to comment, or email and text questions and other personal thoughts and opinions to me. I always enjoy hearing from everyone. (As I have mentioned before, I am on Facebook, Twitter, and you can text or email). Special thanks go to those who I have met not only this past year, but in other years while attending Opry shows. I made made many special friends and it is always nice to put a face to a name. Those who I have never met, either due to distance or timing, don't despair. I could still happen someday.

My thanks to all of those who work or are associated with the Grand Ole Opry and the Grand Ole Opry House. I know some of you follow the blog and every time I head down to Nashville and the Opry, I have always felt welcomed and appreciated. Even though we sometimes disagree, I still think the Grand Ole Opry is the greatest show in the world, a real piece of Americana.

Finally, thanks and appreciation to Dan Rogers and the entire team who run the Opry. I know it is not an easy job booking the show each week, but I also realize that all of you are doing your best to put a good show on each night. You are dependent on Opry members and the non-members you reach out to, to fill the line-up each night. I know some weeks are better than others, but I will never question the commitment behind the scenes. We all thank you.

(As a disclaimer, the recorded number of appearances is based on the tracking that I do of each Opry show. If there is an error, such as a missed appearance, my apologies. Sometimes it happens, but not intentionally. Additionally, the thoughts and opinions written are those of myself and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Grand Ole Opry or its management).

Looking forward to a great 2020.