“Will you come to Nashville next month and play your first Grand Ole Opry,” said Emmylou Harris to Ringo Starr, who was performing the first of two sold-out shows at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on January 14. With his fingers to his chin, Starr jokingly pretended to think about the offer. “When is that, July?” said Starr. Harris responded, “February.” Starr added, “I’d love to. It’s an honor and a pleasure. Thank you.”
Starr, who recently released his 21st solo album and second country release, Look Up, will make his Opry debut on February 21 as part of its ongoing 100th anniversary celebration.
“What an honor that after all the extraordinary music he has made and all the incredible history, he’s been a part of, Ringo Starr will be making his Opry debut during this, the Opry’s milestone 100th year,” said Dan Rogers, Opry executive producer, in a statement. “It’s going to be a night like no other.”
Produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett, Look Up, features special guests Billy Strings, Alison Krauss, Molly Tuttle, Larkin Poe, Lucious, and Joe Walsh playing guitar on the song “Rosetta,” among others.
“Writing with other people, I enjoy—but we always end where I want it to end if it’s on my record,” Starr told American Songwriter. “And that endpoint, he adds, is invariably centered on an optimistic theme: “There’s always peace and love. There’s always a break in the clouds. There’s always light coming in. And you know, I’ve been like that for many years; it’s not new. But it works a treat on country [music].”
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Look Up was not Starr’s first move into the genre. As a teen, he dreamed of moving from England to Texas after learning that country bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins lived in Houston. Always the most country-leaning of the Beatles, Starr also wrote and co-wrote some of the band’s more country and western-influenced songs, including “Don’t Pass Me By” from their ’68 White Album and “What Goes On,” off Rubber Soul in 1965.
The Beatles also recorded and released a cover of “Act Naturally” by the late country legend Buck Owens as the B-side to “Yesterday” in the U.S., which features Starr on lead vocals.
In 1970, Starr released his first country album, and second solo release, Beaucoups of Blues, and later added some country twang to his song “So Wrong For So Long,” which he co-wrote with Dave Stewart for his 2017 album, Give More Love.
Starr returns to the Ryman Auditorium on January 15. Both performances will be featured in the upcoming CBS special Ringo & Friends at the Ryman, a two-hour special airing in the spring of 2025 on Paramount+. The special features Starr’s performances, including Beatles classics and songs from Look Up, along with special guests, including Harris, Tuttle, Strings, Larkin Poe, Jack White, the War and Treaty, Brenda Lee, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, and more.
“It is always a thrill to play the Ryman and this time we are going country,” said Starr in a statement. “T Bone has put together a great show. I’m excited to hear my songs done in a country vein and to play with this incredible group of musicians. It will be two nights of peace, love, and country music.”
Photos: Courtesy of Beautiful Day Media
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