Thursday, July 4, 2013

the Opry

Grand Ole Opry House

Buddy and giant Geetar!

Minnie Pearl lives!

John Conlee - "Rose Colored Glasses"

The Whites

Jamey Johnson

Alison Krauss

Alison Krauss and Union Station

In celebration of our anniversary we went to the Grand Ole Opry to see Alison Krauss. It was her 20th anniversary of being an Opry member. The show started at 7 and according to the schedule Alison Krauss was to be on at 8:45 so we figured we would have to endure a lot of mediocre music or old timers in walkers... but NOT!

The lineup was great, some folks we had never heard of but were awesome singers. Some folks we recognized from the old days, some newcomers we recognized their voice from the radio. 

And then Alison came out at 8 and stayed on the rest of the show until 9:15 - either singing with her band or singing backup for others or playing the fiddle. We even got to see the Soggy Bottom Boys (aka Union Station) singing Man of Constant Sorrow from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? 

The area outside is like a park with lots of trees and benches, there was food and live entertainment while you wait for the Opry to open.

The doors open at 6 so you have time to look around and find your seats and get popcorn. The big screens were showing trivia - like this one:


And while waiting there was a good video presentation about the history of the Opry, the different buildings, the flood of 2010:


The Grand Ole Opry is still a live radio show, it is one of the longest running broadcasts in history, on since 1925. The radio announcer was on the stage doing commercials and announcing the talent, while the next group would be setting up. The house band and backup singers were on the stage the entire time. The different acts would intermingle, playing and singing with each other, you could tell they all were like family. It was an awesome overall experience, I recommend it to anyone even if they don't like country music!




~photo album HERE

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