The Grand Ole Opry is so much more than a radio show. It’s the longest-running radio broadcast in the United States. Maybe, more importantly, it is the oldest institution in country music. It started airing in 1925, two years before the recording sessions in Bristol, Tennessee that are often called “The Big Bang of Country Music.” This year, the institution will celebrate fifty years at the Grand Ole Opry House.
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The Grand Ole Opry started in a small radio studio in Nashville. Before long, fans flocked to the studio to attend live tapings of the show. As the crowds grew, so too did the venue. Over the years, the Opry took place at The Hillsboro Theatre (Now called the Belcourt), The Dixie Tabernacle, and the War Memorial Auditorium. In the forties, the show moved to the Ryman Auditorium. That’s where it stayed for more than three decades. Then, on March 16, 1974, they opened The Grand Ole Opry House.
[Grand Ole Opry House 50th Anniversary Celebration: Get Tickets and Witness History]
Since then, the Grand Ole Opry has broadcast from the Opry House and the Ryman. This year, they’ll celebrate the hallowed building’s fiftieth anniversary in the best way possible—with a star-studded country concert.
Celebrating Fifty Years of the Grand Ole Opry House
The anniversary celebration will take place fifty years to the day from the grand opening of the Grand Ole Opry House. To make things more exciting, the lineup will feature Bill Anderson, Connie Smith, and Jeannie Seely who all performed at the grand opening in 1974. Clint Black, Mark Wills, Mandy Barnett, Gary Mule Deer, Don Schlitz, Del McCoury, The Gatlin Brothers, and Riders in the Sky will also perform.
According to The Tennessean, the opening night of the Grand Ole Opry House featured performances from country legends and then-President Richard Nixon. Roy Acuff played “The Wabash Cannonball” in front of 4,000 fans to break in the new building. Additionally, Nixon played piano and sang “My Wild Irish Rose” and “God Bless America.” He also performed “Happy Birthday” in honor of the First Lady’s birthday.
The Opry House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. It is currently the reigning ACM Theater of the Year. It’s up for Venue of the Year at the 2024 CMA Touring Awards.
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