A couple of very nice mid-week shows are on the schedule at the Grand Ole Opry House this week, starting with the Tuesday Night Opry featuring Opry member Kelsea Ballerini.
Besides Kelsea, the Tuesday show will also include Opry members Connie Smith, Rhonda Vincent, Riders In The Sky and Terri Clark.
Tuesday April 26
7:00: Connie Smith, Rhonda Vincent, Riders In The Sky, Terri Clark
Intermission
8:15: Killer Beaz, Clay Walker, Kelsea Ballerini
Opry Country Classics on Thursday night will be hosted by Larry Gatlin and will feature the Oak Ridge Boys as the Spotlight Artist. Rhonda Vincent is also on the schedule as is Billy Yates and T. Graham Brown.
Opry Country Classics April 28
Host: Larry Gatlin
Spotlight Artist: Oak Ridge Boys
Also Appearing: Gatlin Brothers, Rhonda Vincent, T. Graham Brown, Billy Yates
Rhonda Vincent is my favorite 'Opry member.
ReplyDeleteShe shows up a LOT, and always puts on a great show.
I agree Nat. I know we've questioned why it took so long for Rhonda to gain membership. Regardless of the reason, it's very sad and depressing to think that when she was riding high about ten or more years ago that she couldn't have been a member. It would have been a benefit to her and the Opry. And we remember back in 2006 when Jeanne Pruett retired she suggested Rhonda become a member to replace her. I'm not saying she is past her prime....NO WAY.
ReplyDeleteNothing against Allison Krauss but Rhonda has shown more loyalty to the Opry in one year than Allison has in almost 30! And I don't want to hear that Allison was a bigger star. She may have been more mainstream but I don't see how she could have worked any harder or been more busy than Rhonda has been over the past 20 years or so.
It was always obvious to me that Rhonda's desire to become a member was not to gain something for here resume but out of true love and passion for the Opry and a desire to play on that stage and perform over WSM. I think she has proved that. As Eddie Stubbs would say, are there any questions?
Jim
Knightsville, IN
Spot on comments Nat and Jim. Totally agree.
ReplyDeleteThese Tuesday and Thursday shows are better than the weekends!
ReplyDeleteLove Rhonda VIncent!!!! Definitely understands what the Opry is all about. Regarding Allison Krauss, I really dont consider her bluegrass. Too mainstream for my taste and does not show love for the Opry.
ReplyDeleteT. Graham Brown should be extended an invitation to be a member....
ReplyDeleteIs there any word yet on when the Opry will go back to the pre covid format of a member introducing guests instead of the announcers talking for the entire show
ReplyDeleteI think this will be the format from now on.
DeleteIn many ways, the current format, which is announcer driven, is much like it was when the Opry started. There were segment "stars" but not segment "hosts." That would come a few years later.
DeleteAgree 100% on T. Graham Brown.
ReplyDeleteSaw him on a country music cruise a while back. He's the real deal.
Allison did show up for Bill Anderson's 50th Anniversary on the 'Opry. I appreciated that.
ReplyDeleteYes, so did I Nat. Nothing wrong with Allison but I agree with earlier comment that she is less bluegrass and more mainstream. It just seemed like she was the female bluegrass member and there wasn't room for a second yet she was rarely there.
ReplyDeleteAll for T being a member. I think he would be a lot like Rhonda and would be there often.
Jim
People would probably describe my taste in music as “eclectic”. As long as it’s good music, I enjoy anything and everything…Classical, Top 40, Rock, Big Band, Jazz, you name it. About the only thing I can’t stomach these days is modern country music which I find to be mostly awful. But above everything else is Bluegrass and at the top of the list is Rhonda Vincent. She’s one of the few artists whose music I will buy without having heard it first. I used to be the same way with Alison Krauss in the 90s but some of her more recent projects haven’t been my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteAbout 12 or 13 years ago, I got called in to act as the lighting director for a private daytime show at Universal CityWalk here in Orlando. We did private events all the time but usually music was either canned or we would have a DJ. I didn’t know what the event was and, frankly, didn’t really care as these things were pretty much all alike. The only thing I did know was that a live band would be performing and I would be running the lighting board. So, you can imagine my delight when I walked across the venue loading dock and saw the Martha White Bluegrass Express bus sitting there. Turns out that this was a regional Martha White meeting and Rhonda was the entertainment. She and her band were a class act and I got to spend quite a bit of time after the show visiting with them. I was especially happy to get to spend some time with Kenny Ingram who was playing banjo with her at the time. It was a fun day at work!
Rhonda gets what Opry membership is supposed to be about. I think a lot of today’s artists see membership as just another trophy to hang on the wall. I realize that it’s a much different situation these days. For years, the artists needed the Opry more than the Opry needed them. Today, it’s the complete opposite and the Opry needs the artists more than the artists need the Opry so you take ‘em when you can get ‘em. Still, I was always irritated that management was showing members who had been loyal to the show the door in favor of artists that haven’t supported the show. And I find it pathetic that with a cast of close to 70 members you only see 2 or 3 on any given night. I remember Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt doing and early portion of the Friday night show before heading off to a weekend festival someplace. I heard an interview with Marty Stuart one where he talked about how it was a given that if you worked for Lester Flatt and you were in Nashville on a Friday or Saturday, you WOULD be at the Opry. Ernest Tubb would play somewhere on a Friday, travel home to do the Opry on a Saturday and then get on the bus as soon as the Midnight Jamboree was over and drive to Texas for Sunday night show. That, my friends, was dedication. And even though they lived a good distance away, Jerry Clower, Archie Campbell, Charlie Louvin, Hank Locklin and Ernie Ashworth all made time to do the Opry. Those last three really got the shaft from Pete Fisher if you ask me. So many of the current members can’t even be bothered to drive across town to do the show and that’s sad.
Just my 2 cents.
Barry,
ReplyDeleteGarth and Tricia LIVE in Goodlettsville. Several 'Opry members do. How hard would it be to just drop in every now and then?
I do appreciate Garth's constant promoting of the 'Opry and the recent inclusion of 'Opry stars on his show.
I often wonder if he isn't worried about overshadowing the 'Opry when he appears live. He played guitar for Lauran Alaina and seemed to relish the moment for her, and let her shine.
He's a hard guy to figure out.
Carrie Underwood is my HERO. She comes often, and isn't afraid to sing gospel songs.