Dan Rogers Interview

This week's issue of Country Aircheck weekly included an interview with Dan Rogers that I thought I would share. The questions that were asked of Dan are highlighted. I thought the interview was very insightful. 

The Lessons Of Opry 100

December 15, 2025, Issue 991

Officially commemorated with two Nov. 28 shows, the Grand Ole Opry hit the century mark and now embarks on its next 100 years. Country Aircheck asked SVP/Exec. Producer Dan Rogers about what he and his team will take away from the anniversary.

CA: What would you do differently if you started this over?

DR: If I could have done anything, it would be to give more of our valued artists even more opportunities and exposure. I wish we could have sent twice as many people to London and that instead of a three-hour NBCTV special, we could have had four. There’s simply not enough time on network TV and you can’t send everybody everywhere. It was really gratifying that every Opry member who raised their hand for the actual 100th anniversary night (11/28) had a featured role somewhere in the show. While it was an incredibly long night, every Opry member in attendance – in some cases until 1:25am – realized that’s what it took to feature everyone. And nobody complained, at least not to me.

Even with a full year, there are still bandwidth issues, right?

Our three tentpole events were perfectly timed to be able to effectively pull them off and also carry the banner for the entire year. We kicked off with the network special, then London, then the actual 100th anniversary. We got lucky that those were all separated by a couple of months. We had more shows than we’ve ever done in our history, but that’s really only going from 220 to 240. The Nov. 28 show was a capstone, but also the first of 17 straight nights of shows between the Opry and Opry Country Christmas. 

On a business level, was this a good year on its own or an investment in future growth?

A bit of both. We’ve met that goal of celebrating the past, present and future of country music and celebrating our staff, fans and artists. Every one of those 240 shows has been successful. We’ll know more about the real success of the 100th a year from now. But I very strongly believe we’ve planted seeds that will bear fruit for years to come. When we were talking with artists about considering going to Royal Albert Hall with us, I said that will be a photo that is in the 200th anniversary book – the Opry’s first live broadcast from outside the U.S. 

You were excited about getting James Taylor. Any others that almost made it?

There are country legends and Rock And Roll Hall of Famers I’d still love to see here. I’ve made no secret – including in a conversation with him – that I think Eddie Vedder would kill at the Grand Ole Opry. And that he would have an experience, not unlike James Taylor’s, of getting a real kick out of being in the middle of it all ... if only for one night. As James Taylor was leaving, he said something so beautiful and eloquent. I remember thinking, “I’ll never remember exactly what he just said.” And maybe that’s for the best. After that, he did turn around one more time and say, “I really hope I get to come back here someday.” That’s the ultimate compliment.

Did you expect your guest announcer program to go so well?

Did we think that would be great for our partnership with radio? Yes. Did I foresee everybody posting about it? I guess I should have, but that wasn’t the reason we did it. I feel like we have 60 new friends that were probably friends to the Opry before, but we didn’t know that well.

What’s next?

We’ll come back ready to take stock of what we did well and what we could have done better and then work to maximize the fact that the Opry is 100. I really hope we’ve laid groundwork and given young artists and fans a reason to connect, along with giving people who have loved the Opry all their lives a nostalgic look back.    

 Rogers’ Top 10 Opry 100 Moments

• Anniversary Night Quotes: Between shows, Bill Anderson – the Opry’s longest-serving member – led a toast to 1925 and all that has been, to 2025 and all that is, and to 2125 and all that will be. Bill always knows just what to say. And earlier in the night, Scotty McCreery spoke for the entire Opry cast. 

• Perfect Guests: I’ll [always] remember the moment when James Taylor sat down in the famed circle of wood at soundcheck and began playing – for no one in particular – the first chords to “Carolina In My Mind.” I wasn’t prepared for the looks on Opry members’ faces as they came offstage the night they performed alongside Ringo Starr. We also welcomed Sabrina Carpenter, Train, Shinedown, Aloe Blacc and more in what I hope is a harbinger of things to come.

• Live From London: I am not sure any of us were ready for the huge embrace the Royal Albert Hall gave us, beginning with thunderous applause when Scottish group Breabach’s bagpipes provided a surprise prelude to Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel,” right through the Luke Combs/Marcus Mumford collaboration “Always On My Mind.”

• Record Numbers: The biggest 180-degree day was when we were honored to host beloved Opry legend Jeannie Seely’s memorial service ... followed immediately by load-in of Sesame Street characters for collaborations on that night’s Opry with Lauren Alaina and Tayla Lynn. I can only imagine the choice words Seely would have had for me ... she would have reveled in giving me hell about it.

• Opry 100 Honors: We created that series to make sure certain names like Loretta Lynn, Charlie Daniels, Porter Wagoner, Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl were remembered and celebrated. In a year with a lot of love in the Opry House, those were standouts.

• Snapshots: Standing in the Ryman alley on a cold afternoon in March, [I watched] as Barbara Mandrell got out of her car to make a surprise appearance on that night’s show. As she posed for photos with fans, I thought, “Moments like this were taking place in this very same spot 60, 70 and 80 years ago.”

• Surprises: Highlights included two visits from Tanya Tucker to surprise both the audience and her collaborator on “Delta Dawn,” and Garth Brooks and his band kicking off our birthday month by tearing it up on “Callin’ Baton Rouge” with zero advance notice for our sold-out crowd.

• Song Legends: I love when a song is so perfect for the Opry that its legend grows from year to year. Anyone who worked Ashley McBryde’s debut or induction night remembers the significance of her “Girl Goin’ Nowhere.” [This year], the song and the Opry grew even closer when Ashley and Terri Clark [performed it on the] NBC special ... Ashley introduced [and performed the song] at Royal Albert Hall ... [and it] opened our year-end Opry NextStage show.

• Family: Vince Gill played the Opry more in our 100th year than ever before. As our Nov. 28 shows went on past midnight, it was fun to hear backstage chatter about Vince suggesting everyone go across Briley Parkway to Waffle House. But my favorite Vince moments were when he sang “Jenny Dreamed of Trains” with daughter Jenny followed by an impromptu appearance by Jenny’s daughter alongside her mom and grandpa ... and when he dedicated a song to his mom in Oklahoma who turned 100 just a few weeks before the Opry followed suit.  

• Heart: Unscripted moments of real joy included when one of our St. Jude guest announcers sang along with Kelsea Ballerini, and when Kathy Mattea paused in the middle of her own Opry induction set to invite her friend of 30 years, Suzy Bogguss, to join the family. The leather-bound book each of the artists who played this year signed backstage [bears messages that are] universally heartfelt and often deeply emotional, including Jamey Johnson’s masterful thank you letter and young John Foster’s recollection that he and seven friends took an Uber from Jackson, TN to the Opry after his bus broke down on I-40, barely making it on time.