grand ole opry
In July, when Ricky Skaggs surprised Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) artist Steven Curtis Chapman with an invitation to become an official member of the Grand Ole Opry, it marked a full-circle moment for the Paducah, Kentucky native. Chapman grew up listening to the sounds of the Grand Ole Opry each week on his father’s radio. Chapman’s father ran a small music store in Kentucky and on the weekends, he would play music with friends including dobro player Jack Martin, who played with bluegrass pioneer Lester Flatt and performed on the Opry.
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After receiving his invitation, one of the first things Chapman did was call his parents back home in Kentucky to tell them the news.
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“I said, ‘You’ll never believe what happened tonight.’ And [my father] said, ‘I know exactly what happened–I’m still crying. I was listening.’ He was so proud and excited,” Chapman recalls. “They are going to make plans to be there and [I’ll have] my whole family to celebrate the moment. It’s going to be very special.”
When Chapman is officially inducted as the 239th member of the Grand Ole Opry on Friday (Nov. 1), he will be the first CCM artist to receive that honor.
Chapman made his Grand Ole Opry debut at 18, as a performer at Opryland USA theme park, singing Skaggs and George Jones songs during a matinee. He estimates he’s appeared at the Opry 50 times in the last four decades.
Over the last 40 years, Chapman has become one of CCM’s foremost architects, thanks to songs including “The Great Adventure,” “For the Sake of the Call,” “Dive” and “Love Take Me Over.” He’s had nine projects reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart and earned five Grammys and nearly 60 GMA Dove Awards.
“We felt it was time for Steven to become an Opry member, looking at his incredible career and his connection to the Opry since he was a teenager. He loves every style of music that’s played out here and can play that style of music,” the Grand Ole Opry’s senior VP/executive producer Dan Rogers tells Billboard. “He brings his own genre to the show, and his credentials are impeccable, but we often say when someone’s inducted, that at its core Opry membership is about relationships — relationships with fans of the Opry, between members and the between artists and the ideal of the Opry.”
Chapman’s induction also acknowledges the deep shared history of faith-based songs and country music. Over the decades, country artists have recorded gospel albums or included gospel songs in their sets—an approach that counterbalances country music’s songs of alcohol, broken relationships and cheating, highlighting the duality of Saturday nights are for sinning and Sunday mornings are for redemption that the genre is known for.
Hank Williams, Sr.’s “I Saw the Light” traces a spiritual conversion story, while Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me” is a plea to a higher power for grace and mercy. The country music anthem “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” looks at death through a spiritual lens. Dolly Parton’s “Silver and Gold” and “He’s Alive,” the Brad Paisley/Parton collaboration “When I Get Where I’m Going,” Johnny Cash’s “Jesus Was a Carpenter,” George Strait’s “Love Without End, Amen,” Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Something in the Water,” Garth Brooks’s “Unanswered Prayers,” Morgan Wallen’s “Don’t Think Jesus,” and Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” all weave in sentiments of faith.
“One of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar was [Cash’s] ‘Folsom Prison Blues,’” Chapman notes. “Songs [with lyrics about] ‘I was on my way to prison… but I saw the light,’ you have to have both of those. And that is the Grand Ole Opry in a nutshell, those songs are so baked into the DNA. You listen to Bill Monroe and all these songs… ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken.’ ‘I Saw the Light,’ ‘I’ll Fly Away,’ those songs are synonymous with the Opry.”
One of the Grand Ole Opry’s earliest homes-from 1943 to 1974- was the church-turned-music venue the Ryman Auditorium. The building, originally known as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, was built by riverboat captain Thomas Green Ryman and opened its doors in 1892, seven years after Ryman attended a tent revival in Nashville led by evangelist Samuel Porter Jones. Ryman was inspired to build the Union Gospel Tabernacle as a place people could join in worship (the building was later renamed the Ryman Auditorium).
In 1994 came the first incarnation of the Ryman’s “Sam’s Place—Music For the Spirit,” (named after Jones), which welcomed some of the top names in Christian, gospel, bluegrass and country. Two decades later, Chapman helped revive the series at the Ryman.
In 2008, the Grand Ole Opry released How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites From the Grand Ole Opry, a collection of country artists’ Grand Ole Opry performances of gospel standards. For the past four decades, the Opry House has also hosted the annual Sunday Mornin’ Country, with country artists expressing their faith in song.
In recent years, several CCM and Gospel artists have made their Grand Ole Opry debuts as the Opry continues welcoming a breadth of genres to its stage, including Wilson, for King & Country, We the Kingdom, CAIN, Blessing Offor and Naomi Raine. Opry inductees in recent years have included bluegrass/southern gospel group The Isaacs, bluegrass icon Rhonda Vincent and comedians Henry Cho and Gary Mule Deer.
“Half of our crowd is here because they love country music and the other half is in Nashville and they know the Opry is a microcosm of the music of this town,” Rogers says. “We try to program the best country music show we possibly can, but also give them a real taste of the different styles under the country music umbrella.”
Lady A’s Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood will induct Chapman, while Friday’s performance lineup will also feature Skaggs, Carly Pearce, Russell Dickerson and alternative rock band Colony House, which includes Chapman’s sons Caleb and Will.
One of the songs Chapman will perform is “The Grand Ole Opry Stage,” a song he crafted for the induction, which chronicles his journey.
“The song ends with the lyrics, ‘We’ve all been invited to the unbroken circle of the Grand Ole Opry stage,’ and I’ll go into ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken,’ and my family and Ricky Skaggs and any artists that are there that will join me and finish out my induction by singing that song,” Chapman says, adding, “Of course, I’ll be a blubbering mess by the end of it, just taking it all in.”
Scott Stapp acknowledges that the 99-year-old Grand Ole Opry, whose storied membership includes Johnny Cash, George Strait and Tanya Tucker, is not the natural setting for “outliers like me.” But as the singer known for bombastic hard-rock Creed hits like “One Last Breath” and “Higher” prepares for his Opry debut Wednesday night (Oct. 23), he suggests he may be more country than people expect. “When I was young and poor, my grandparents were huge fans of country music and bluegrass. They would watch The Opry on TV in Florida. I can remember laying down on the floor with my hands under my chin with my grandparents behind me,” Stapp tells Billboard. “That’s why it’s a tremendous honor, and I want to do my best to bring my A-game.”
In the past six years, the Opry, which began in 1925 with Uncle Jimmy Thompson playing his fiddle at Nashville radio station WSM, has been more aggressive about opening its stage to non-traditional country performers. Post Malone, the pop and hip-hop star who this year released a chart-topping country album, performed in August; retired Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, a singer-songwriter who put out an album this year titled Hey Y’All, made his debut in March; jam band Leftover Salmon and Andrew Farriss of INXS are scheduled for dates later this year. In 2018, 53 artists made their Opry debuts; last year, that number increased to 131, plus another 101 so far in 2024. For its 100th anniversary in 2025, the Opry is planning 100 debuts, beginning Jan. 18 with Shaboozey, whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” this year became the first song in history to reach the Top 10 of the Country, Pop, Adult Pop and Rhythmic Airplay charts.
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“It’s a great thing. It’s important, because it expands what country music is,” says Jared Cotter, Shaboozey’s co-manager, adding that the singer accepted the Opry invitation “in about two seconds.” “It needs to evolve. We’re really excited to be what I think is at the forefront of it.”
Shaboozey
Eric Ryan Anderson
Dan Rogers, the show’s senior vp and executive producer, says his artist-relations team has emphasized “artists you might not normally expect to see at the Opry” — whether that’s African-American stars, like Shaboozey, who have historically been largely absent from the Opry stage, or performers who’ve built their music careers outside country, like Stapp. This is part of the broadcast’s tradition, Rogers adds — James Brown and Stevie Wonder, not known for their country inclinations, performed in 1979, as did rocker Peter Frampton in 2013. Similarly, in a throwback to Hee Haw, Jerry Clower, David “Stringbean” Akeman and others, the Opry inducted comedians Gary Mule Deer and Henry Cho as members last year. Until that point, the Opry had not inducted a comedian since 1973.
“It’s no secret we have opened our doors more broadly since the pandemic,” Rogers adds. “We’re always working to be steadfast in our programming philosophy, which is [to] present the past, present and future of country music every time that big red curtain goes up.” The strategy has worked so far — although he declines to provide attendance numbers, Rogers says “visitation” and “demand for Opry performances” has increased yearly since 2020 in terms of increased numbers of the 4,400-capacity shows.
The Opry’s inclusive definition of “country” in recent years reflects pop music in general, according to Brian Mansfield, a Nashville writer, historian and managing editor of radio-industry trade publication Country Insider. “You don’t really think of Post Malone as a country artist, but if you talk to him, he grew up knowing that stuff,” he says, then cites Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter album, even though the pop superstar has never performed at the Opry. “She wanted to show how the country music she grew up with in Houston, which has this unique blend of country and R&B and everything in its DNA, was part of what she was.”
Stapp, by contrast, did not set out to make a country song when he and his Nashville songwriting collaborators came up with “If These Walls Could Talk,” even though he spent his childhood watching Hee Haw on TV when it was recorded on the Opry stage throughout the ’80s. “The song was just born and created as-is,” says Stapp, who has lived in Nashville since 2016. “I don’t have any intent to try to change it into some kind of more country-leaning song just because I’m playing it at the Opry.” For his debut, Stapp plans to perform the song for the first time with Dorothy, the hard-rock singer who duets with him on the recording.
In emphasizing new and unexpected performers, the Opry is being savvy about expanding its audience. “Our research shows that 50% of the audience in the seats love country music, and that’s why they came to the Grand Ole Opry. And the other 50% are in Nashville, and they know they’re supposed to see the Grand Ole Opry,” Rogers says. “Both of those halves will appreciate when someone they wouldn’t expect shows up at the Opry.”
Post Malone at his Grand Ole Opry debut on Aug. 14, 2024.
Chris Hollo
NBCUniversal and a private-equity firm, Atairos Group, invested $296 million for a 30% stake in the Opry’s parent company, Opry Entertainment Group, in 2022. (The group also owns the Ryman Auditorium, which hosts numerous Opry shows, and Blake Shelton‘s Ole Red brand of country bars.) It makes sense that investors are happy to see the lineup expand as widely as possible — in the first half of this year, Creed’s catalog streamed 263 million times, and its 2024 reunion tour is headlining arenas, including Madison Square Garden next month. Of Stapp, Rogers says, “I’ve read two or three times now, people saying to him, ‘This sounds country, were you influenced by country artists?’ So that made sense. And the fact that he is so passionate about songwriting feels really authentic. It turns out, as it often does, he fits really interestingly with the show.”
Another recent unexpected Opry debut was Katharine McPhee, the former American Idol runner-up who is best known as a pop singer, although she starred on 2021’s Netflix series Country Comfort. In her Oct. 12 debut, McPhee performed two songs, “She Used to Be Mine” and Gretchen Wilson‘s “Redneck Woman,” and dueted with fellow performer Riley Green on “Don’t Mind If I Do.” Unlike Stapp, McPhee didn’t grow up watching country music on TV, although she was a fan of Martina McBride, Shania Twain and Faith Hill.
“I didn’t know [Opry attendees] would be so attentive and friendly. They’re just music lovers. They just want to be there and root for whoever’s up on that stage,” McPhee tells Billboard. “I walked out to an audience full of smiling, warm faces, and that was really delightful.”
Over the past year, Post Malone has been integrating himself into Nashville’s country music circles, co-writing and recording songs with numerous country artists, writers, producers and musicians in Music City for his upcoming debut country album, F-1 Trillion, out on Friday (Aug. 16).
But on Wednesday night (Aug. 14), he was welcomed into the most prestigious of those circles — the six-foot circle of hardwood, originally part of the stage of the Ryman Auditorium, and which now resides in the middle of the stage at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, as Post Malone made his Grand Ole Opry debut — and yes, he had some help.
Quite a lot of it, actually.
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Post Malone’s 18-song F-1 Trillion project brims with collaborations with artists including Tim McGraw, Luke Combs, Dolly Parton, Jelly Roll, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen, ERNEST and Lainey Wilson.
Triple threat singer-songwriter-guitarist Paisley, a Grand Ole Opry member since 2001, took to the stage first with a warm introduction.
“He has a country heart and he is someone who immersed himself in the Nashville way,” Paisley said, while also laying down a challenge: “But you aren’t a country singer until you’ve played this,” Paisley said. He then welcomed Posty, who garnered an instant standing ovation as he walked onstage and stepped into the famous circle, in the process becoming part of the ongoing legacy of the longest-running radio broadcast in history.
“What’s going on Nashville? My name is Austin Richard Post and I’m here to play some songs tonight with some really amazing folks and I’m honored to call them friends,” six-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper Malone told the crowd as he joined Paisley.
“I’m terrified and honored to be standing right in this spot. My mom’s here tonight. Brad I remember going to see you [perform] when I was like six. I wanted to say how amazingly grateful and floored I am to have you bring me out tonight and I appreciate you.”
From there, the evening — hosted by WSM Radio’s Kelly Sutton — was a heart-warming mix of music and friendship. It was another Opry member, Vince Gill, who joined Posty for the first song, a rendition of Gill’s 1993 hit “One More Last Chance,” with Paisley also offering up some smooth guitar riffs.
Post Malone, clad in jeans, a white shirt, a blue blazer and cowboy hat, displayed a self-depreciating sense of humor, quipping early in the evening, “I was going for like a K-Mart George Strait [look],” drawing laughs from the audience.
He also noted, “how cool it is to rock out to people that I’ve listened to my whole entire life,” before welcoming John Michael Montgomery to join him on Montgomery’s 1994 hit “Be My Baby Tonight,” trading off high-octane verses and intertwining their voices on the chorus.
“I’m having the freakin’ best time of my life,” Malone said, clearly taking in the experience. He added, “We’ve been here in Nashville for a couple of months, like six or seven months, and I have made so many beautiful friends along the way. I’m so honored to be able to work with my friends.” He then welcomed reigning ACM and CMA entertainer of the year Wilson, who was inducted as an Opry member in June.
“Her heart is bigger than her hat,” he quipped, as she added, “What a special night.”
They debuted a song from F-1 Trillion called “Nosedive” about finding the beauty in the painful moments. The heartfelt ballad elicited cheers from the crowd and marked one of the evening’s more tender moments.
“Welcome to country music, Post Malone. We’re glad to have you!” Wilson said before exiting the stage. Paisley then returned to debut another new F-1 Trillion track, their collaboration “Goes Without Saying.”
“I’m honored to be on your album. This is one of my favorite records I’ve ever cut,” Paisley said, before deadpanning, “We’re going to mess this up. We’ve played this once.”
“Watching Brad growing up, I was always just mind-blown by someone who could play guitar like that,” Posty told the crowd, before telling Paisley, “You are the best living guitar player on the planet and I’m so honored to call you my friend, sir.”
From there, Malone delved into a slice of country-meets-’70s soul with “California Sober” — a song from the new album that features Chris Stapleton. Stapleton wasn’t at the Opry, but Posty welcomed two other stellar vocalists — The War and Treaty’s Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter — to perform the song, their voices soaring and swooping, marking one of the evening’s most musically-rousing moments.
“It’s unreal how y’all sound,” Malone told them.
Post Malone is known to drop a few curse words during his shows, but given that the Grand Ole Opry is also a radio broadcast, he did his best to keep things clean. In introducing The War and Treaty, he said, “I recently made some friends and I’m so honored to know these people and they can sing their a–es off,” before quickly asking, “That’s not a cuss, right? It’s in the Bible, right?”
He then closed by performing a solo version of his multi-week Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, the Morgan Wallen collab “I Had Some Help,” before ending his set with a countrified, fiddle-laden version of his 2019 hit “Sunflower.”
The audience members swiftly rose to their feet to cheer and applaud, making it all but certain that given the audience’s approving reception, this could be but the first of many Opry performances for Texas native Malone.
Asher HaVon didn’t have the only big surprise during Tuesday night’s (May 21) finale of The Voice season 25.
Lainey Wilson‘s lifelong dream came true when The Voice mentor Reba McEntire invited her to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“Lainey, I’m so proud of you,” McEntire remarked, after Wilson, Billboard’s recent cover star, performed her new single “Hang Tight Honey”. “You did a wonderful job. And I have heard that I have inspired you and what you’ve done so far. I’m thrilled that I have had anything to do you with your career because you are blowing it up.”
And with that, McEntire made it official. Wilson will be inducted into the Opry.
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Hailing from Baskin, LA, Wilson kicked off the recent 2024 ACM Awards with a mini-medley performance (including a sweet taste of “Hang Tight Honey”) and won for female artist of the year, one of her five nominations on the evening.
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“I was so proud of you at the ACMs the other night,” McEntire continued, “and I couldn’t be more proud to be the one that helps you continue to bridge the gap between our generations, and keep them all going.” Wilson will be elevated into the Opry during a ceremony in Nashville on June 7.
Somebody pinch me…I’m going to become a member of the @opry on June 7! 🥹😭 This is the moment little Lainey dreamed about ever since her first trip to Nashville. Thank you @reba & @NBCTheVoice for the surprise of a lifetime. https://t.co/MxNNvfjqA5— Lainey Wilson (@laineywilson) May 22, 2024
The 32-year old recounted visiting the Opry with her family at age 9. “I knew that I wanted to play there. I wanted to do it. It’s so crazy that you’re asking me to be a member because I look up to you so much.”
Watch the moment below on NBC’s The Voice.
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Wilson, a Record Breaker Award at Billboard‘s Country Power Players, has been carving out her own path in country music in recent years.
“Save Me,” her duet with Jelly Roll, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in December, soon after her coming-of-age song “Watermelon Moonshine” had summited the list — for the shortest stint between No. 1s for a female artist in the chart’s 34-year history.
“Watermelon Moonshine” nabbed both the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Association Awards for album of the year, as well as the Grammy for best country album — only the ninth record ever to complete that trifecta. And at November’s CMA Awards, Wilson became the first woman to win entertainer of the year since Taylor Swift in 2011 and the first artist since Garth Brooks in 1991 to win best new artist one year and entertainer of the year the next.
The good times keep on rolling when Wilson opens her Bell Bottoms Up Bar, located at 120 South 3rd Ave., on May 31. The same day, the rising star launches her Country’s Cool Again Tour with two headlining shows at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater.
On Tuesday evening (April 9), as Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business celebrated a special “Belmont at the Opry” program, the program also revealed a $58 million lead gift from music industry executive and philanthropist Mike Curb and the Mike Curb Foundation, which will fuel a further expansion of the program’s presence on Nashville’s Music Row, with the renovation of existing buildings and the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility.
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The expansion comes as Belmont’s music business program celebrated its half-century milestone last year. The program launched in 1973, founded by the late Robert E. Mulloy and with support from former University president Dr. Herbert Gabhart and music industry executive Cecil Scaife (who was part of Sun Records in Memphis before relocating to Nashville), with the intent of providing formal education and real-world career experience to young adults with aspirations of entering various sectors of the music business, including record production, label operations, songwriting, music publishing. The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business was established in 2003 and is located at 34 Music Square East in Nashville (Belmont has contributed to preserving the historic Music Row recording studios Columbia Studio A and Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut). The program is also a mainstay on Billboard’s annual Top Music Business Schools list.
The expansion project will be in two phases. The first, which is underway, includes the renovation of the historic Buddy Lee Attractions/Capitol Records building at 38 Music Square East. The renovation will add 17,000 square feet of space, including songwriting rooms, live sound classrooms, listening spaces and student lounges. The renovation will also include an updated space for Nashville’s Leadership Music office.
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Phase two will involve developing a 75,000-square-foot building behind the program’s current Music Row-area building, with construction of the new facility beginning over the next 24 months. The building will serve both students and the greater Music Row-area community, encompassing a performance venue that can accommodate more than 150 people, as well as networking and gathering spaces for both students and industry professionals, a coffee shop, content creation rooms and underground parking. Phase two will involve a broader fundraising campaign, which launched Tuesday night.
Curb’s gift, and renderings of the spaces, were unveiled during a reception held just prior to the “Belmont at the Opry” event, which featured prominent Belmont University alumni, including artists Trisha Yearwood, Brad Paisley, Tyler Hubbard, Hailey Whitters, Ashley Cooke and Ian Munsick, as well as songwriters Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey and Nicolle Galyon.
Other Belmont alumni among Nashville’s music industry community include Steven Curtis Chapman, Josh Turner, COIN, Brian Kelley, Sony Music Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston, producer/guitarist Dann Huff, UMG Nashville chair/CEO Cindy Mabe, Spirit Music Nashville CEO/Chief Creative Frank Rogers and Warner Chappell Nashville president/CEO Ben Vaughn.
“Mike Curb’s remarkable generosity and partnership with Belmont over many years has been invaluable in advancing entertainment and music business education,” Belmont University President Dr. Greg Jones said. “This latest transformational gift solidifies Belmont’s position at the forefront of developing the next generation of music industry leaders. We are profoundly grateful to Mike and Linda for their continued investment in Belmont’s mission.”
“As Nashville’s music industry has grown and evolved into an international entertainment hub, it’s crucial that our education system keeps pace to develop skilled talent,” Curb added. “Belmont has been a fantastic partner over the years in preparing aspiring artists, songwriters, engineers, and music business leaders who go on to become invaluable employees for record companies throughout Nashville and the industry at large. With this latest investment, we’ll build upon that strong foundation to push entertainment and music business education ahead to the next level, ensuring a steady stream of well-prepared professionals for the ever-growing industry.”
“For 50 years, our faculty, stage and world-class facilities have made Belmont a top destination for future music executives, engineers, artists and songwriters. Mike’s partnership over decades has allowed Belmont to continually elevate our entertainment curriculum and facilities in lockstep with industry needs,” said Brittany Schaffer, who joined the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business as dean in May 2023. “This lead gift allows us to deepen our integration with Music Row, creating an unprecedented immersive experience that will directly connect our students with industry leaders and opportunities while driving innovation alongside our partners in Nashville’s entertainment landscape.”
It’s been 26 years since Dan Rogers, the Grand Ole Opry’s newly promoted senior vp/executive producer, began working at the hallowed institution, and in that time, he’s seen thousands of shows. But the Opry has experienced a particularly fertile time since he became vp/executive producer in 2019, and his highlights range from the shivers he […]
As the Grand Ole Opry approaches its 100th anniversary, vp/executive producer Dan Rogers will take on expanded duties in his new role as senior vp/executive producer of the esteemed institution.
The 26-year Opry veteran will continue to oversee all aspects of the more than 225 shows at the Opry each year. “I really do take it as a pat on the back for what our entire team has been able to accomplish and what we’re in the middle of,” the self-effacing executive tells Billboard of his promotion, which is effective immediately “But there’s still so much I want to be a part of with the Opry before it’s my time to let somebody else take the reins.”
When Rogers took the reins as vp/executive producer in 2019, he couldn’t have imagined the challenges ahead. “The COVID pandemic hit seven or eight months into me being in this position. I was really thankful that I wasn’t new to the Opry when that hit,” says Rogers, who started at the Opry as an intern in 1998 and has held positions in artist relations, communication, marketing, production and tours.
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“We just assumed the flood of 2010 would be the most devastating thing and the most challenging time in our careers,” Rogers says, referencing the historic flood that devastated Nashville as the Cumberland River rose over its banks and filled the Grand Ole Opry House with 10 feet of water. “But it was truly the uncertainty and just the sadness of COVID that made it so difficult for us.”
Nevertheless, the Grand Ole Opry continued, and artists performed 29 Saturday nights without a live audience during the COVID pandemic, never missing a performance. Fans all over the world continued to enjoy the nearly 100-year-old show as they tuned in to the Opry Live broadcast and livestream.
Under Rogers’ leadership, the Opry welcomes a wide range of performers — both newcomers and established superstars, as well as acts who fall outside of country. For example, “American Pie” singer Don McLean made his Opry debut Mar. 9.
“Mr. Rogers, or Opry Dan, as we still lovingly call him, is so effective simply because he absolutely loves the Opry and everyone connected with it. It is his passion, and it shows,” says Jeannie Seely, a 58-year member of the Opry, who was Rogers first assignment as an intern, when he was charged with taking her and her dog, Shadpoke, to the welcome center to greet fans. “Dan is the perfect choice for this important position. He understands the broad spectrum of the Opry. He has the pulse of what’s happening in the music industry today and how it pertains to the Opry. At the same time, because of his lifelong love for this institution, he knows the history and the legendary artists who have created it. His mix of the two provides a show that can only be found at the Grand Ole Opry. The future of this country music treasure is safe in his hands.”
Trisha Yearwood, who celebrated her 25th anniversary as an Opry member on Mar. 13, agrees. “Dan has always understood the family that the Opry is, and he does everything with a smile. He even brings homemade apple pie backstage! I’m so happy to see him move up in our Opry family.”
Since Rogers took the helm as executive producer in 2019, 15 artists have been inducted as Grand Ole Opry members, and T. Graham Brown and Scotty McCreery will be inducted this spring. Last year set a record for Opry debuts, as 131 artists performed on the famed stage for the first time. During the past two years, there have been more than 200 debuts. “If you made me pick a favorite debut, it would probably be Leslie Jordan because that man brought so much love into this Opry House when he walked in,” Rogers recalls of the late actor/singer. “He had so much respect for this place and was determined to have the night of his life from the minute he walked in.”
During his tenure, the Xenia, Ill., native has executive produced Dolly Parton’s 50th Opry anniversary special, Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Great Country Music and Christmas at the Opry, which all aired on NBC; as well as the Opry’s 5,000th Saturday night broadcast on Oct. 30, 2022, and the 50th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry House, which took place the weekend of Mar. 16.
“We went into the night, and I said to our programming staff, ‘One thing we should try to accomplish tonight is all of us should take time to enjoy the show, have fun and tell these artists we love them because this feels like a monumental show,’” he says of the 50th anniversary of the Opry House moving to its current building in 1974. “I loved just standing on the side of the stage and watching people from Bill Anderson, who has been here and served the Opry longer than any member in history, to relatively new Opry members all just enjoying being here and feeling like they were at home.”
Rogers’ duties include serving as executive producer for the weekly Opry Live broadcast and live-stream. He will add new executive producer roles on upcoming international and domestic broadcasts, especially those related to the Grand Ole Opry’s 100th year on the air in 2025.
There’s palpable excitement in Rogers’ voice when he talks about celebrating the Opry’s 100th anniversary. “Our goal would be to do up to 240 Opry performances next year, the network television specials and a couple of monumental shows, probably outside of Nashville,” he says. “We’re taking the Opry to some unexpected places in addition to really having a show almost any time a Nashvillian wants to come see us or anyone is coming from around the world. If you spend two nights in Nashville, [we’re] pretty sure at least one of those nights we’ll be staging the Grand Ole Opry for you.”
Though the Grand Ole Opry’s actual centennial is in November 2025, the festivities will begin long before. “We’ll begin celebrating about this time next year and will continue basically as long as people will let us,” Rogers says with a laugh. “There are so many artists we want to showcase and partners we want to partner with, it really will take several months for us to accomplish all that we want to accomplish, but we also want to give people plenty of opportunities to come see us if you are a spring traveler or summer traveler, fall, winter or what have you.”
Rogers says there are plans for special exhibits and specific tours celebrating the Opry’s 100th, which he expects will draw more than 250,000 visitors. “You will also know that it’s a really, really special year when you walk through either on a tour or as an artist walking through on a show night,” he says.
There are also plans for shows that will honor Grand Ole Opry legends who have died such as Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl.
Rogers quarterbacks a staff that includes the Opry’s programming and artist relations team’s associate producers Nicole Judd and Gina Keltner, as well as artist relations and programming strategy director Jordan Pettit.
After all these years, Rogers says he still gets a thrill on show nights. “My favorite thing is walking to the side of the stage and watching the curtain go up and seeing 4,400 people out there and knowing for some of them it’s a bucket list moment,” he says. “There’s probably some little kid from southern Illinois who had never dreamed that they would be where I am and there are probably lots of Trisha Yearwoods, Lainey Wilsons and John Pardis out there, just taking it all in and thinking, ‘I’m going to be on that stage someday.’”
The 4,300-capacity Grand Ole Opry crowd gave Mexican singer-songwriter Carin León a superstar’s welcome as he made his debut at the Nashville venue on Friday night (Feb. 23).
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León had one of Billboard’s top 10 Highest-Grossing Latin Tours of 2023 with his Colmillo de Leche Tour, which played Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena and Houston’s Toyota Center, among other venues. He was one Billboard’s Top Latin Artists on the 2023 year-end chart (based on song and album performance, as well as touring). Last year, Leon notched some of his biggest Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart hits, including “Primera Cita,” and the Grupo Frontera collaboration “Que Vuelvas.” León and Maluma joined forces for “Según Quien,” which topped both Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart and Regional Mexican Airplay chart in December. This past year, he won a Latin Grammy for best Norteño album (Colmillo de Leche)
Screams of adulation and a sea of cell phone lights greeted the León as he took the stage before a crowd that was on their feet and singing along with every (primarily Spanish) lyric he sang. Leon played his 2022 hit “No Es Por Aca,” followed with a solo version of “The One (Pero No Como Yo),” his duet with Kane Brown, which the pair debuted earlier in the week at the 2024 Premio Lo Nuestro. He closed with “Primera Cita,” a song which marked a milestone moment of experimentation for León, who blended Mexican and the soulful sounds of Memphis and New Orleans.
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At one point, as León stood on the Opry’s famed circle of wood, part of the Opry stage that had originally been in the floor of the Opry’s previous location at the Ryman Auditorium, he knelt down and placed a kiss on the floor.
“This moment is a dream come true,” he said later from the stage. “This moment is important for my music, for my country. Having all the family here and having country music accepting us, for us to be here, this place is magical. I hope to come back here a thousand times more. Thank you so much for this moment.”
He exited the stage, but only momentarily — as the screams and chants of the crowd quickly demanded that he return to the stage for another song. León obliged with an encore, and in the process, became one of the rare artists making their debut Opry performance to make an encore performance — joining a lineage of artists whose debut Opry performances included encores, including Josh Turner’s 2001 Opry debut, the 2016 Opry debut of rock legend John Fogerty (who had joined Brad Paisley on the Opry stage), and of course, Hank Williams, Sr.’s 1949 debut, when he was brought back onstage for six encores.
Just offstage, his “The One” collaborator Brown and singer-songwriter Leon Bridges stood among a throng of other supporters witnessing León’s Opry debut.
Earlier in the evening, seated backstage in the Little Jimmy Dickens-themed dressing room 3 at the Grand Ole Opry, León was filled with gratitude — and maybe a slight bit of nervousness — as he spoke of achieving his dream of playing on the Grand Ole Opry.
“Being here at the Grand Ole Opry, for every artist, it’s more than realizing a dream,” he told Billboard. “For me as a Mexican, for me coming from another genre, they are living the dream. We never realized that we would be here, even as an audience member, but now being here playing, it makes me so proud.
“I was walking around earlier, looking at the photos and the [artist] quotes that are on the walls. I cried four times reading what they said, because they felt like I do. It made me feel so humble and reminded me why I started doing music. This place is magical for every musician. The history, it’s a love letter to music and you feel like you’ve entered a sacred place.”
Since releasing a slate of live albums in 2018, followed by his full-length debut, El Malo, in 2019, León’s music has increasingly enveloped an array of sounds, among them folk, flamenco and country. He previously covered songs by Johnny Cash and Chris Stapleton and teamed with Walker Hayes for an Amazon Music collaboration.
Of his new collaboration with Brown, León says, “One of the first names in country music to collaborate with that somebody put on the table was Kane Brown. It was 2018 or so when I started hearing his music. He’s like the link for our genre and country music to happen. I met him and his team, and he’s such a humble person and good guy and one of my friends in this game that is music. I’m very happy that he believed in our music and it is the perfect time for this to happen.”
On April 26, León will make his debut performance at country music festival Stagecoach, performing on a bill that also includes Eric Church and Jelly Roll. He will be the first Spanish-language act to perform at both Stagecoach and Coachella.
“It’s unbelievable for me,” he says of those upcoming performances. “I’m kind of nervous about that show because it’s a different audience, but we’re going to enjoy it so much and I’ll get to see some of my idols, too. It’s a place where I’m going to celebrate what’s happening with our music and this musical revival. You can see less limits on every music. People are hungry for good music and artists don’t want to fit in a box. If you have a great song, you can upload it with just a guitar and video and you cannot deny what’s good.”
León, as well as his fellow artists including Bad Bunny, Maluma, Karol G and Grupo Frontera, are leading Latin music’s current global success. Latin and country were two of the genres with the most percentage gains in 2023, according to Luminate’s 2023 Year-End report, with Latin up 21.9% to 75.26 million units in 2023 and country rising 21.8% to 92.19 million units in 2023.
The crux of León’s country music-focused moments — the Opry debut, Stagecoach, the collaboration with Brown — is León’s in-the-works, full-fledged country album.
“This is one of my wishes of my life, to do this project,” he says. “I think this is the correct time to do it, and we are working on it. We are on the song selection process, but there are a lot of names we’re looking at.”
Similar themes are woven through the lyrics of both Regional Mexican and country — tales of love, family, and cowboy/vaquero culture. Leon’s upcoming country project could prove a key moment in further uniting the two genres. Historically, country has seen occasional moments of Latin artists finding successes on the country charts, with Johnny Rodriguez and Freddy Fender both earning No. 1 country hits in the 1970s, while in the 1990s, Tejano music star Emilio Navaira, band The Mavericks and Rick Trevino saw country radio successes.
More recently, artists including Frank Ray, Leah Turner, Valerie Ponzio and Veronique Medrano are making their own fusions of Latin and country sounds. Additionally, León’s collaboration with Brown extends a lineage of Latin artists collaborating with country artists, from Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson earning a Country Music Association Award for collaborating and earning a country hit with “To All the Girls I Loved Before” (they would later also record “Spanish Eyes” in 1989). David Bisbal, Enrique Iglesias and Becky G are among other Latin artists who have collaborated with country artists in recent years.
“Everybody wants to be a cowboy right now, everybody wants to do country right now,” León says. “People are doing rap they are getting rap touched by Mexican music or touched by country music. They are wearing the hats, the boots. Louis Vuitton’s last collection, it’s all cowboy stuff. We as Americans, as Mexicans, we want to feel proud of what we are for. We don’t want to emulate what everybody’s doing — these are our roots. Our hat is what we are, our boots are what we are. I’m very happy that people are looking to our culture in such a big way that is happening right now.”
The Grand Ole Opry apologized to offended fans over the weekend after singer Elle King unleashed a profanity-laced rant during a Dolly Parton tribute concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Friday celebrating the iconic singer’s 78th birthday. The mea culpa came after King, who described herself onstage as “f–king hammered,” was attempting a cover of Parton’s 2001 song “Marry Me,” during which the “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” singer admitted she could not remember the lyrics.
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In video clips of the incident, King appears to fumble for the lines to the song, singing instead “I don’t give a s–t” and “I don’t know the lyrics to these things in this f–king town… Don’t tell Dolly ’cause it’s her birthday,” holding the last word for an extended beat before rolling her eyes exaggeratedly.
The singer then turned her attention to the surprised crowd, telling them, “I’m not even gonna lie. That’s a b-side for ya. I’m not even gonna f–kin’ lie. Y’all bought tickets for this s–t? you ain’t getting your money back… I’ll tell you one thing more. Hi, my name is Elle King and I’m f–king hammered.” When a member of King’s band suggested she sing one of her own songs instead of trying another Parton cover, King responded, “I can barely play another person’s song, let me see if I can play one of mine.”
King’s uneven performance drew the ire of many country music fans and resulted in an apology from the Opry, which tweeted “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.” The tweet came in response to a message from a disgruntled attendee, who’d written, “It was such a disappointment to spend $300 on tickets for a show where one of the artists ruined an entire night. I mean it’s The Opry, the greatest country venue in the world. That performance was like lackluster karaoke performer wasted out of their minds. Awful.”
In a follow-up, the person added, “I wish she would’ve been there because Elle King ruined the night with her horrible, drunk, and profane performance. Dolly Parton would’ve been mortified. For our first time at The Opry, it was a shame we all had to witness that.” The show also featured tributes from Ashley Monroe, Terri Clark, Tigirlily Gold and Dailey and Vincent.
Parton’s younger sister, singer Stella Parton, was also disappointed with King’s performance, tweeting, “I didn’t see nor hear the Grand Ole Opry birthday tribute to my big sister Dolly over the weekend. But some lil girl by the name of Elle King apparently cussed and insulted some of Dolly’s fans by not knowing a song. She did admit to being ‘hammered’ her word not mine.”
Stella Parton continued with a history lesson about the Opry, as well as a friendly bit of advice for performers who don’t do their homework. “But let me just say this, it wouldn’t be the first time a Hillbilly went on the stage of the Opry ‘hammered’ but I guess it’s ok if you’re a male but good lord don’t ever let a girl behave that way folks! Double f–king standard if ya ask me. So the Opry is apologizing! Lol,” Stella wrote, adding, “To any lil ego thinking they can learn the lyrics correctly with a half assed listen to one of Dolly’s song. Surprise! You’ll end up looking as silly as that lil girl. Do your homework people. Memorize the lyrics to ‘Jolene’ or ‘COMC.’ My sister loves words. A brilliant word smith.”
At press time a spokesperson for King had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment and it did not appear as if King had commented on the incident on her socials.
Parton celebrated her birthday last week by releasing a deluxe edition of her debut rock album, Rockstar, featuring nine bonus tracks.
Hi Judas, we deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) January 20, 2024
Wynonna Judd is set to host ‘Christmas at the Opry,’ airing from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House on NBC on Thursday, Dec. 7, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, and airing on Peacock the following day.
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Joining Judd is a stellar slate of performers, including Brenda Lee, Kelly Clarkson, Mickey Guyton, Lauren Alaina, BRELAND, Trace Adkins, Chris Janson, Chrissy Metz, Meghan Patrick, Mitchell Tenpenny and Adam Doleac.
The two-hour music special will feature several top artists performing an array of holiday classics alongside some of today’s most impactful music. The show will be taped on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at the Grand Ole Opry House, beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
Earlier this week, Judd was honored during the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards with the country champion award.
“Wynonna is one of the most recognized and lauded performers in country music,” said Cassandra Tryon, senior vp, Live Events, NBCUniversal Entertainment, in a statement. “Not only is she incredibly talented, her selflessness and passion for putting the needs of others in the spotlight is unmatched. We can’t think of a better person to honor as our inaugural ‘Country Champion’ and to celebrate the holidays with across these two major country music events.”
Christmas at the Opry is executive produced by Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski for Den of Thieves along with RAC Clark and Jen Jones.
Both Christmas at the Opry and People’s Choice Country Awards reflect collaborations following NBCUniversal’s equity investment in Opry Entertainment Group alongside Atairos.
Tickets to the Oct. 3 taping are available at opry.com.