Grand Ole Opry 10/3 & 10/4

Traditionally, the Grand Ole Opry has celebrated its birthday weekend during the month of October. The celebration has moved around over the years, but more years than not, the birthday weekend has taken place during the first or second weekend of the month. This year, as the Grand Ole Opry celebrates its 100th anniversary, every show during the month will be a special Opry Birthday show and there are some special events on the schedule.  

Each Saturday during the month, songwriter Rhett Akins will have an exclusive ticketed "Birthday Tailgate Party" in Studio A. For those who do not know, Rhett is a member of the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame, along with being the ACM Songwriter of the Decade. He will perform some of his #1 hits as well as other country classics. 

On Sunday October 5, WSM Radios will celebrate its 100th anniversary. In addition to the annual Opry Community Day, which will include an Opry Plaza Party and Opry House tours that will be free to Tennessee residents, there will be a very special Sunday Night Opry that will honor WSM that evening. The show will feature each of the WSM air personalities, along with Opry members Dailey & Vincent, Ketch Secor and Pam Tillis. Also on the schedule are Charlie Worsham, Elizabeth Cook, Tommy Emmanual, Chuck Mead and Chris Scruggs and The Stone Fox Five. That is shaping up to be a big show. 

On Wednesday October 8, Connie Smith will celebrate her 60th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. This is the rescheduled show that was cancelled in August. Joining Connie that night will be Marty Stuart, Vince Gill and Sierra Ferrell among others. 

Saturday October 11 will see the Opry induct Kathy Mattea as their newest member. Scheduled to join Kathy on this special night will be Opry members Bill Anderson, Terri Clark, Charlie McCoy, along with Kathy's friend, Suzy Bogguss. 

On the following Saturday night, October 18, "Opry 100 Honors" will pay tribute to Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl, two of the Opry's Icons. The lineup that night includes Opry members Bill Anderson, Vince Gill, Steve Wariner and Patty Loveless. As with the other Honors shows, it promises to be a very special night. 

Finally, wrapping up the month will be Grand Ole Opry member Carrie Underwood, who will be appearing on Friday and Saturday, October 24 & 25. 

As mentioned, each night during October will be a special night at the Grand Ole Opry including this weekend as the birthday month gets underway. 

The Friday Night Opry will feature Opry members Ricky Skaggs, Terri Clark and Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, John Conlee, Riders In The Sky and Don Schlitz. Yes, only 6 on the schedule and all are Opry members. 

Ricky Skaggs, The Gatlin Brothers and Don Schlitz are back on Saturday night, joined by Mandy Barnett, T. Graham Brown and Connie Smith. Guesting are Rhett Akins and Drew Parker. 

Friday October 3
7:00: Riders In The Sky, John Conlee, Gatlin Brothers 
Intermission
8:20: Don Schlitz, Terri Clark, Ricky Skaggs

Saturday October 4
1st show
7:00: Opry Square Dancers, Gatlin Brothers, Rhett Akins, Connie Smith, T. Graham Brown
8:00: Don Schlitz, Drew Parker, Mandy Barnett, Ricky Skaggs

2nd show
9:30: Opry Square Dancers, Gatlin Brothers, Rhett Akins, Connie Smith, T. Graham Brown
10:30: Don Schlitz, Drew Parker, Mandy Barnett, Ricky Skaggs

Sunday October 5
7:00: Daily & Vincent, Ketch Secor, Chris Scruggs & The Stone Fox Five, Tommy Emmanual
Intermission
8:20: Elizabeth Cook, Chuck Mead, Charlie Worsham, Pam Tillis

For those interested, I will be heading down to Nashville for the weekend and will be at the Opry on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as the WSM Community Day on Sunday. As always, it promises to be a fun weekend. 

Since this is the Grand Ole Opry's birthday month, I will spend the month posting lineups from various birthday shows from years past, hopefully bringing back some memories of a few of the shows that some might have attended. 

With that said, here is the posted lineup from the Grand Ole Opry's 90th birthday weekend in 2015. 

Friday October 2
1st show
7:00: Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers (host): Joe Diffie, Jeannie Seely
7:30: Diamond Rio (host): Jan Howard, JT Hodges, Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press
8:00: Lorrie Morgan (host): Old Crow Medicine Show
8:30: Riders In The Sky (host): Little Big Town

(The line-up for the second show that night was the same as the first show. And if my memory is working correctly, the Oak Ridge Boys made a surprise appearance with Little Big Town). 

Saturday October 3
1st show
7:00: Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers (host): Oak Ridge Boys
7:30: Charles Esten, Chris Carmack, Sam Palladio, Aubrey Peeples
8:00: Jeannie Seely (host): Trace Adkins, Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Riders In The Sky (host): Carrie Underwood

2nd show
9:30: Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers (host): Oak Ridge Boys
10:00: Jeannie Seely (host): Carrie Underwood, Opry Square Dancers
10:30: Charles Esten, Chris Carmack, Sam Palladio, Aubrey Peeples
11:00: Riders In The Sky (host): Trace Adkins

Many will remember it as the year that an entire segment was turned over to the cast of the TV show "Nashville." And I remember all of the complaints that I heard regarding that night. Here is what was printed in the Tennessean that weekend: 

Steve Buchanan, executive producer of ABC's "Nashville" conceived the TV show with the "No. 1 goal" of it having a positive impact on the Grand Ole Opry. "I also knew that if we did a show that made people more curious about Nashville and, thus, had an impact on visitation to Nashville, then that would have a positive impact on the Opry, the Ryman and hopefully countless other businesses."

I am not sure if the show had a positive impact or not, but it did bring in a lot of new country music fans to Nashville and to the Opry. 

Finally, who remembers the film, "American Saturday Night: Live From The Grand Ole Opry" that was filmed and released to theaters in December, in commemoration of the Opry's 90th anniversary.? To refresh some memories, the movie featured Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, The Band Perry and Brett Eldridge. I think there was some talk at the time that Brett Eldridge could possibly turn up as an Opry member someday, but obviously, that talk ended pretty quickly. 

There you have it for this weekend as Opry 100 begins its "Rhinestone Milestone" birthday month. As always, thanks for reading and commenting and I hope everyone enjoys the Grand Ole Opry this weekend.