Tuesday Night Opry: Opry Salutes The Troops 5/21

One of the very special shows that the Grand Ole Opry puts on every year is the annual Opry Supports the Troops show, which generally takes place the Tuesday before Memorial Day. 

The Opry will salute our U.S. Military with a return of the red-carpet parade and what has become a highlight of the year, the special Salute the Troops Opry performance. The public is invited to arrive at 5:00 pm to see the 313th U.S. Army Band perform in the Opry Plaza before they lead the honored red carpet parade guests beginning at 5:45 pm. Opry House doors will open after the honored guests have entered the building for the 7 pm show. 

The Opry’s Salute the Troops celebration is presented by Humana and supported by the VFW.

As it is each year, there is a stellar lineup of artists on the schedule including Opry members Craig Morgan, Trace Adkins, John Conlee, Lauren Alaina and Charlie McCoy. 

Tuesday May 21
7:00
John Conlee
Austin Snell
Charlie McCoy
Lauren Alaina

8:45
Intermission

9:00
Lee Brice
Huntergirl
Sal Gonzalez
Trace Adkins
Craig Morgan

Each year the Opry generally has a special performer on the schedule and this year it is Sal Gonzalez, who will be making his Opry debut. 

Born and raised in East Los Angeles, CA, Sal Gonzalez learned to sing in grade school while performing in the choir and quickly fell in love with the whole process. He later picked up playing guitar partially by learning from his self-taught father and partially by playing in bands with much better guitar players. Sal quickly started singing lead in bands throughout high school, having small success with his Spanish rock band “La Cabaña,” playing locally all-over Southern California.

After the terror attacks of 9/11, Sal decided to serve his country and shifted his focus from music to being a United States Marine—a title he would later earn in late 2003. After training to become a machine gunner, Sal proudly served with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines and would later be deployed to Iraq in the late summer of 2004. On October 31, 2004, Sal’s vehicle was struck for the 7th time during that deployment, killing Lt. Matthew D. Lynch and severely injuring Sal and one other Marine.

Sal was flown to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where, after coming out of a weeklong coma, he learned the extent of his injuries. After more than 30 surgeries and 4 months of hospitalization, his left leg was amputated below the knee. Once healed, he was sent to San Antonio Medical Center in Texas, where he spent the next year learning to walk on his new prosthetic leg. Sal retired from the United States Marine Corps in late 2005 and, after a quick stay back home in Los Angeles, CA, he moved to Nashville, TN to pursue his dreams of songwriting and performing.

In 2014, Sal was selected to be a contestant on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Off the strength of his performance, he has been able to perform with many of today’s country superstars. He has shared the stage with Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Charles Kelly, and Trace Adkins, just to name a few. His songs about life, love, and loss are sometimes a far cry from the laughing, often joking guy he is today.

However, Sal proves with his song, “When We Go Round,” that he can write up-tempo songs about love too. Meanwhile, the song “Heroes” is Sal’s favorite song that he’s worked on, and he says, “it was the first song that I’d written that I was like, ‘finally something really me.’” The EP “Shadow of Death” is Sal’s first release as an artist and according to him, “that’s just the beginning.”

Definitely a special night at the Grand Ole Opry House for Sal Gonzalez.