A Night At The Grand Ole Opry

Somber Sunday,

The sun is already shining on this gorgeous Sunday.  There is also a nice autumn breeze in the air.  I don’t know about you, but I love the Fall season.  There is just something about it, which adds a little pep to my walk.  Do I have an amazing show to talk about today.  Last night I got to attend my first performance at The Grand Ole Opry.  How many have y’all been to the Opry?  If I could I would breakdown every performance, but that would push the blog to probably be around 5pages long.  So I hope you don’t hold a grudge that I don’t go into detail about certain performances.

If you have yet to experience a show at this landmark, I highly recommended it!.  Tickets are very fairly priced with the amount of talent packed into the whole performance.  With two of my newest friends from Nashville we went to the 7 PM show, Saturday, October 16.  Each performer was breathtaking as they took to the legendary stage.

In the first act performances were from Little Jimmy Dickens, Connie Smith, and Holly Williams.  Little Jimmy Dickens was our host for this segment.  Can he get one to laugh or what.  Little Jimmy Dickens had the crowd rolling with laughter as he told numerous accounts of various performances where he had some hilarious meetings with individuals.  The stunning, Connie Smith performed during the first act and my goodness she was marvelous.  Smith is renowned for her beautiful voice and she certainly lives up to the rave created around her music.   Holly Williams, daughter of Hank William Jr, was the last to round out the first set.  Williams sang a personal song, which was perfect for the Grand Ole Opry.

The second set of performances was just as packed with talent as the first.  Host Mike Snider, has a perfect movie trailer voice for a downtown Southern flick, which made listening about the sponsor Bass Pro Shops even better.  The artists included Jeannie Seely, The Whites, and newcomer to the Opry, James Wesley.  James Wesley was the one who caught my attention because this was his first ever Opry performance.  Not only is the moment special to the artist, but also I personally feel all the fans will remember an artist’s special night.  This is a life changing event when you play the Opry and it makes the performance that much deeper to the audience.  Wesley’s current single, “Real,” is climbing the Country charts.  This is a song, which is truly connecting with America right now.  If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend checking his single out.  (http://www.jameswesleymusic.com/)

The third set of performances included Riders In The Sky, as the host, Jim Ed Brown, Jimmy Wayne, and the Opry Square Dancers.  Riders In The Sky, is just one of those performances which will be remembered for a lifetime.  These guys are truly remarkable and inspire the feeling of the older Country tunes, which had a huge influence on the music of today.  Riders In The Sky opened the set with the perfect song, “Ghost Riders In The Sky.”  As the audience was preparing for the next performer the Opry had a great surprise in store.  Ace of Cakes decorator, Geoffry Manthorne, joined the stage to be a co-host.  Not only was it a treat to have him be a co-host, he joined Country music artist Jimmy Wayne in his performance.  Wayne’s two song set included “Stay Gone” and “I Love You This Much.”  This was my first time seeing Jimmy Wayne perform in person and I was not disappointed.  He was on his ‘A.”  Jimmy Wayne has recently been hitting headlines with his walk from Nashville, TN to Phoenix, AZ to raise awareness for homeless teens.  Very admirable for Jimmy to pursue a 1700 mile trek in order to help others, checkout http://projectmmh.org/ to see how you can become involved.

The final set included host Bill Anderson, Eamonn McCrystal, and Legendary Country artist, Randy Travis.  I had the opportunity to see Randy in late August and by golly I would go see him again.  Travis is an artist who knows his fans and has a strong stage presence.  As soon as Travis hit the stage, fans moved closer to score the up close shots of him on The Grand Ole Opry stage.  Eamonn McCrystal is a souvenir in a way because when Travis went overseas to Ireland he found McCrystal.  I’m one who is glad Travis brought this talented young man back to the states to perform.

Y’all are in for a treat this week as I pick my Song of the Week and share it with you on Music Monday.

As always bloggers, keep those ears entertained.

 

Musically,

Chelsea ♫