The Trail's Our Thing

I live in Tennessee, the home of country music. But I always said I didn't like country music. I didn't like the lyrics about tragic life or loneliness or unrepented love or drinking. I didn't like the whiney way most of the people sang. I didn't like their clothes and hair styles, the boots and cowboy hats. I never learned how to do the country two-step. And I never went to the Grand Ole Opry... never thought I wanted to!

Until this weekend.

Our friend Sophie came to stay with us from France. Not knowing much about Tennessee geography, she asked about going to Nashville, which is about 2-1/2 hours west of where we live. This was a good way for our family to experience a bit more of our own state, so I suggested that we go over for the weekend. Sophie ended up getting a good airfare to fly out of Nashville, and I used Marriott points to book two rooms at a Marriott Courtyard for Saturday night. Then I had the idea to get tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. Even though I don't like country music, I thought that if we if we were going to take a foreign friend to Nashville, it would make sense to show her what Nashville is all about.

We had to explain a few things to Sophie. On the drive to Nashville, we told her that "Ole" is a slang way to say "Old" and that "Opry" relates to the word "Opera." She thought "Ole" was pronounced like the spanish word!

Okay. I absolutely loved the Grand Ole Opry. We all did.

The Grand Ole Opry has been going on now for 84 years. It began as a live radio show and is the oldest continuous radio show in the US. Shows are held several days a week in the Grand Ole Opry House (near the Opryland Hotel), where the Opry moved in 1974 after it outgrew the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The Grand Ole Opry House seats 4400 people.

The complete schedule isn't finalized until a week or two before the show. A few of the more popular performers are announced further in advance. (For example, Carrie Underwood will be there March 7.)

I got the highest priced tickets, $53 each, and we went on Saturday night. The Saturday show runs from 7 to 9 pm, and we arrived a little before 6:30 pm. The theater has a couple levels of seating and is very intimate. Seating is on comfortably padded benches. We were maybe ten rows from the stage. There was kind of a warm-up, with a Minnie Pearl impersonator and a movie about the Grand Old Opry. Then the performance began.

It's kind of a variety show, fast-paced, fun, energizing, and very friendly. You could have a beer or drink at your seat. And you were welcome to take photos (not video) and even go down to the front to take pictures. My photos aren't very good because of the lighting, and I didn't leave my seat to get closer.

The show was broken into four segments. Each segment had a "host" who did the first number and the last of that segment and introduced some of the other performers. There were four performers or groups in each segment, and each sang one or two songs. You could see people mingling around on the side of the stage, and a few performers had family members and friends with them.

Each segment also had a sponsor, and the acts were interspersed with short commercials mostly done by a radio announcer. It really wasn't all that distracting. (One of the sponsors was Cracker Barrel, and I think that was kind of fun for Sophie.)

The music was really varied. There were some old-time country stars (perhaps in their 70's) and also some very contemporary country rock singers and groups. There was a bluegrass band, a family group (The Whites) of a father on piano and three daughters, an old cowboy group called Riders in the Sky, Pam Tillis (daughter of Mel), a pretty young singer that Kelly knew of named Heidi Newfield. A famous woman Opry star named Connie Smith brought out her husband (not on the schedule), another famous country star named Marty Stuart who sang with her. There were even square dancers, doing a very fast and complicated dance. They got a lot of applause.

My favorite was a singer named Aaron Tippin. He was so energetic and I loved his music. I knew one of his songs-- East Bound and Down-- and sang along to Kelly's shock. (You can listen to it-- the first track-- here, and I've just found out that it was the theme song to "Smokey and the Bandit"-- remember?)

The old cowboys sang "Tumbling Tumbleweed" and ended with "Happy Trails to You." They encouraged everyone to sway and sing along, which of course we did.

There was something for everyone, people of all ages and interests. Our group varied in age considerably (15, 38, 53 and 63) and we all really enjoyed it.

We will definitely go again, and I would recommend the Grand Ole Opry to anyone who visits Nashville. Even if you don't like country music!