Circle Unbroken: Opry Returns Home
Grand Ole Opry officials today announced that the show, displaced from its permanent home due to May’s historic Nashville flood, will return to the Grand Ole Opry House with a star-packed show Tues., Sept. 28. Among the artists scheduled for the show are Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels Band, Diamond Rio, Jimmy Dickens, Del McCoury Band, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Mel Tillis, and Josh Turner.
The show will air live on GAC: Great American Country. Special events and artist appearances will follow throughout October in celebration of both the show’s return and its 85th Birthday.
The announcement came just before the Opry House’s signature element, a six-foot circle of oak wood taken from the historic Ryman Auditorium when the show moved to the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974, was returned this morning to its home center stage at the Opry House. The circle, along with the full Opry stage, had been covered by 46 inches of water during May’s flood. Rescued immediately after waters receded from the Opry House, the circle has been painstakingly refurbished. The country music treasure was placed in its rightful spot with assistance from Dickens and Paisley. The two Opry members then took to the circle behind an Opry microphone stand for an acoustic performance of the country classic “Will the Circle be Unbroken.”
“It is the best feeling in the world to see our beloved circle back home,” said Grand Ole Opry Group President Steve Buchanan. “We can not wait for the curtain to go up as we launch a new chapter in the Opry’s history on September 28, just in time to celebrate our 85th birthday. There is no doubt the next two months are going to be some of the most memorable and emotional ever for our performers and fans.”
“It is as it should be,” said Paisley. “That circle means the world to all of us who love country music. I’ve always said that the circle still contains the dust from Hank Williams’ cowboy boots. Well now it contains that dust, but also the heart and soul of this town and all the people who have worked to rise above this spring’s floods. I know I speak for all my fellow Opry members when I say, ‘we are so excited to come home!’”
The Opry has not missed a single show since the flood, broadcasting from several Nashville venues including former Opry homes the Ryman Auditorium and the War Memorial Auditorium.
- (l-r) Steve Buchanan, Senior Vice President, Media and Entertainment; Jimmy Dickens; Brad Paisley; Jimmy Dickens; Brad Paisley; Congressman Jim Cooper; Mayor Karl Dean; Colin Reed; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Dave Kloeppel President and Chief Operating Officer; Pete Fisher Vice President, General Manager of the Grand Ole Opry.
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What is Cooper and Dean doing in there? They’re politicians, NOT loved country singers. They need not be in there! Watch, somebodies gonna thing this is insulting to POLITICIANS and delete this comment!