A Night At The Opry

If you’re ever in Nashville, I would highly recommend taking in a show at the Grand Ole Opry. I have been there once, and I had a great time. Purchasing tickets shouldn’t be too hard, but you should still get them as soon as you can. We bought ours early, before Carrie Underwood was announced as one of the performers. When we got to Nashville, we found that both of the Saturday night shows had been sold out, so we were lucky to have gotten them ahead of time.

The Opry is normally held in the Grand Ole Opry House, located east of downtown Nashville. However, for several months during the winter, the Opry is moved to the Ryman Auditorium, which is located right downtown.

What struck me about the show at the Opry was the atmosphere. It was very relaxed and respectful. I think this was because the audience ranged from children up to the elderly. There was no party atmosphere, which led to a very subdued crowd, but not in a bad way.

During the performances you’re not supposed to stand up. If you do, one of the ushers will politely ask you to sit down. If you want to take pictures, you can walk down the center aisle right to the front of the stage, take your pictures, and walk back. It’s all very orderly.

The variety of the show is fun. It is made up of multiple performers who only sing one or two songs each. I got to see Little Jimmy Dickens, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, and many more, all in only two hours. Every half-hour there is a new host, who introduces the other acts, makes a few jokes, and sings a couple of songs themselves.

There are shows on Friday and Saturday night, and, for most of the year, Tuesday and Thursday nights. The Saturday Night Opry consists of two shows. (They essentially do the same show twice.)

On a side note, the video for Carrie Underwood’s song ‘I Told You So’ is footage from her performance on the Opry the same night I was there. However, it was taken during the first show, and we attended the second, or I very well could have been in the video.

If you take in a Saturday night show at the Opry, you can follow that up with attending, for free, the Midnight Jamboree at the Texas Troubadour Theatre, which is located fairly close to the Opry. This is a weekly radio show that begins at midnight and is hosted by a special guest, who sings a few songs live and also acts as the DJ. (When we went, it was Rocky Lynne.) Once again, those attending ranged from the very young to the very old. The show is broadcast live, but everybody who attended was very polite and quiet, coming and going without creating any sort of distraction.

We were still in town on Sunday, and that evening we decided to go to the Opry again, this time to see if we could take any good pictures. It was a warm March evening, and the Opry was completely deserted, but still totally accessible. There are no gates keeping you out. You can walk right up to the front door if you’d like.

There is a large courtyard out front, with several stone benches. The outside lights were on, illuminating the building itself, and from the courtyard it took on a sort of majestic splendor. To add to this, gospel music was playing softly on the outdoor speakers.

This all combined to create a sort of surreal experience where I could have just sat on a bench for hours and absorbed the atmosphere. Here was this iconic place where so many musical legends have performed, and yet you could still hang out there on a warm spring night on a bench and essentially have it all to yourself. It's hard to put into words, but it was kind of like how you feel after soaking in a hot spring for a while. Just relaxed and happy. Now how many other musical venues could this happen at?