Grand Ole Opry marks 5,000 shows
NASHVILLE >> A historic milestone is approaching for the Grand Ole Opry. One that is 96 years in the making.
The Grand Ole Opry is the world’s longest running radio show, and tonight will mark 5,000 performances.
It began in 1925, when WSM radio began airing what would become the Grand Ole Opry.
Years down the road it expanded to television and eventually digital streaming platforms.
The Opry continued to produce original shows through the great depression, World War II, and this past year during the pandemic.
According to Yahoo News, only once in history was the Opry’s live broadcast canceled, when a curfew was imposed following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
The Opry has helped launch the careers of countless iconic artists, now country legends.
Tonight, people can expect to hear performers like Bill Anderson, Terri Clark, Vince Gill, Chris Janson, Jeannie Seely, Connie Smith, the Gatlin Brothers and Chris Young.
The Opry executive producer says the 5,000th show will be humbling and incredibly exciting.
“We’re absolutely pulling out the stops for the show but I’ll also say that it was really important to me that it look and feel like an Opry show does,” Dan Rogers said.
“I mean, the 5,000th Saturday night, we didn’t get to that point by going off-script and doing things radically different from Saturday night to Saturday night.
“I really wanted this show to be kind of what you always hope the Opry is when you buy a ticket and come see us or when you tune, and that is in a nutshell, a celebration of the past, present, and future of country music.”
Recently added to the lineup is Garth Brooks, Dustin Lynch, Darius Rucker and Trisha Yearwood.
Listeners can stream the Opry shows at www.opry.com/venue/ live-stream.