Last Friday evening, October 14th, I went to my first Grand Ole Opry show at Nashville's Opryland. It only took me 5 years living in Nashville to get there. I did see a show there two years ago but it was the Rounder Records 40th Anniversay show, not a regular opry show. The Rounder event featured Mary Chapin Carpenter and Alison Krauss. (See my post of 10/14/09.)
My reluctance to take in an Opry show was due to the show lineups more than the ticket prices which range from $24 to $55. You generally get to see 2 or 3 of the current big name singers and the rest are older stars or new acts. Generally, each artist performs only two songs and it may not be one of your favorites. Going because of one particular artist could lead you to be disappointed.
The show is broadcast on radio in addition to being performed for the audience. It's broken down into 4 segments, each with a different sponsor and host. You get to hear commercials in all the segments read by announcer Eddie Stubbs. As we arrived at our seats, there was a woman on stage doing her Minnie Pearl imitation. A video about the opry followed, narrated by Carrie Underwood. A few times during the evening, they called out seat or row numbers for some prizes, announced the names of group tours, wedding anniversaries of some attendees, etc.
On this particular night, the first segment was hosted by Jim Ed Brown. He opened with "Pop a Top", a hit for him in 1967 and later for Alan Jackson. I only found out recently that Jim Ed was one of the Browns who were famous for their 1959 hit "The Three Bells". The bluegrass/gospel Whites and Darryl Worley rounded out the first part.
The second segment was hosted by 90 year old Little Jimmy Dickens. I don't recall the songs he sang but he told some funny jokes. Josh Turner was the headliner with "Long Black Train" and a lesser known song for me, "Everything Is Fine". Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press completed this group.
The third was hosted by Mike Snider, who appeared with his old time string band. The segment also featured Mandy Barnett, famous for her starring role in the musical "Always ... Patsy Cline" and 81 year old Jack Greene who sang "There Goes My Everything" and "Statue of a Fool". Mandy and Jack sounded great but I didn't catch the titles of Mandy's songs.
I liked Mike's joke about the woman who asked him if he was holding the door for him because of her sex. He said no. It's because of your age. She indignantly replied that her age was her business. He said yes, and I see you've been at it a very long time.
The final part was hosted by an old favorite of mine, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers who sang Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You) and another song I can't recall. Mark Wills sang a new song, "Crazy Being Home", about soldiers suffering from PTSD, and "19 Somethin'". The Black Lillies, a fairly new group from Knoxville, sang "Two Hearts Down" and "Three in the Mornin'". I liked their sound. Lead singer Cruz Contreras was formerly part of his ex-wife's band, Robinella and the CCstringband.
Will I return to see another Opry show? I would have to say yes. All of the performers were really good, vocally and instrumentally. On the down side, listening to the radio commercials was interesting the first time but got tiresome quickly.
Comments