Before I get to the mid-week Opry shows, I wanted to share this information regarding one of the individuals at the Grand Ole Opry that we don't hear about yet is vitally important to putting the show on the air.
October 5, 2022
The NAMM Oral History Program celebrated a milestone this week: the release of the program’s 5,000th interview. In this special edition, the program features Kevin McGinty, famed audio engineer, and Front of House for the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville, Tennessee.
In the interview, McGinty shares stories, wit, and wisdom working in live sound. He covers his early history, which began with mixing live sound in high school, later attending Belmont University and Middle Tennessee State University for a degree in Music Business. From there, he worked as front of house at Nashville’s famed Exit/In and installed many audio systems in the city’s clubs and concert halls. In 2003, McGinty joined the Grand Ole Opry as an audio engineer and has never looked back.
View the interview here: https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/kevin-mcginty
Since its inception in 2000, the NAMM Oral History Program has sought to preserve the rich history of the industry through first-person accounts from professionals in music products, pro audio, live sound, entertainment technology, artists, and more.
I encourage everyone to check out the interview and I thank Jeanne O'Keefe of The Lippin Group for sharing this information with me.
And now, here are the lineups for the upcoming mid-week Grand Ole Opry shows:
Tuesday October 11
7:00: Rhonda Vincent, Travis Denning, John Conlee, Steven Curtis Chapman
Intermission
8:15: Connie Smith, Byron Kennedy, Carter Faith, Chase Rice
Wednesday October 12
7:00: Riders In The Sky, Emily Ann Roberts, Chase Bryant, The Travelin' McCourys
Intermission
8:15: Ricochet, Mandy Barnett, Charlie Worsham, The Isaacs
Thursday October 13-Opry Country Classic
Larry Gatlin
The Gatlin Brothers
Dailey & Vincent
Louise Mandrell
Craig Campbell
Wade Hayes
For comedian Byron Kennedy, Tuesday will be his Opry debut, while Ricochet on Wednesday night will be making their first Opry appearance in 20 years.
For those who are interested, I will be sharing a few thoughts regarding the birthday week of shows when I post the lineup for next weekend.
As I remember, for many years the chief audio guy was Vic Gabany, who did some late recordings of Bill Monroe. One night on the TNN portion, Gabany was running across the stage as Mr. Monroe got ready to introduce the next act. Mr. Monroe grabbed his arm, said this was his friend Vic Gabany, and this was his birthday, and then he sang happy birthday. Poor Vic looked embarrassed beyond all get-out, but when Bill Monroe grabbed your arm, it was GRABBED.
ReplyDeleteMichael-I thought I remembered a lot of things about the Opry in the 80' an 90's but you come up with some good ones. If I heard or saw that I have forgot about it. Vic's brother lived in Terre Haute and he and his wife were in the local Art Guild with me until they moved to Kentucky several years ago. With that last name, I just had to ask one day if they were related to Vic. I always hoped that through them I might meet Vic someday but it didn't happen. Do you remember him working the Midnite Jamboree and both ET and JT often referring to him as "our little engineer, he's very little of an engineer"?
ReplyDeleteJim
Knightsville, IN