Grand Ole Opry

I cannot figure out anyway to tie this post into golf, but it was so much fun that I wanted to tell you about our night at the Grand Ole Opry!

Everyone that visits Nashville needs to go to the Grand Ole Opry one time (only)! The Grand Ole Opry is to country music what Cooperstown is to baseball. It is broadcast live on WSM (We Serve Millions) AM Radio and simulcast to many parts of the country. It is two hours of country music and old fashioned humor broken into four half-hour segments with live voice over commercials for sponsors Dollar General, Humana, Bass Pro Shops and Martha White's Flour. The original Grand Ole Opry was in downtown Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium (check under the tab for history). The Opry still broadcasts from Ryman from time-to-time, but its home is now a beautiful theater on the outskirts of Nashville. We went on a Friday night.

The first half hour was hosted by John Conlee with Riders in the Sky and Whitney Duncan, who was singing for the first time at the Opry. Check out her hot new song and video, Skinny Dippin'. The second half hour was emceed by Little Jimmy Dickens who is a legend in Nashville and has been a Grand Ole Opry member for 60 years! His guests were Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-Press, who sang the old standard "Rocky Top (Tennessee)" and T. Graham Brown. The third half hour was hosted by Bill Anderson with Jean Shepherd, the first female member of the Grand Ole Opry, and Keith Anderson, one of the two show headliners. Keith Anderson sang "I Still Miss You" and "Pickin' Wildflowers". The last half hour was headlined by special guest Ricky Skaggs, another country music legend, with Jeannie Seely and Jim Ed Brown.

The old-timers like Little Jimmy Dickens, Jeannie Seely, Bill Anderson and Jean Shepherd have been a part of the Opry for 40+ years, and today's superstars still come to the Opry and love to perform. Artists performing at the Opry during the next three weeks include Keith Urban (10/30), Vince Gill (10/30), Blake Shelton (10/31), Josh Turner (11/13) and Carrie Underwood (11/14).

If you enjoy country music or just music in general, you should see a show at the Grand Ole Opry.