The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.

Dan Rogers began his work with the Grand Ole Opry as an intern and is now the show’s Vice President & Executive Producer. In this role, he produces Opry shows up to seven nights a week and is shepherding the iconic show toward its upcoming 100th year.

A native of Xenia, Illinois, Rogers received a B.S. in communication from the University of Evansville and an M.S.Ed. in educational psychology from Eastern Illinois University.

He was the Executive Producer of the Opry’s album Opry Unbroken: Empty Room, Full Circle containing tracks recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Opry played on to a worldwide livestream and radio audience despite not having a live audience in the Opry House. He also executive produced the NBC television special Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years Of Country Music and Dolly Parton’s 50th Opry anniversary special, also on NBC, and consulted on 2023’s inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards and Christmas at the Opry network broadcasts. He created, wrote, produced and co-hosted the radio series That Summer as well as additional specialty programs for WSM Radio and was a writer/production assistant on the syndicated radio show America’s Opry Weekend. He co-authored the Opry’s book Backstage At The Grand Ole Opry and authored an Opry-centric country music trivia book. Prior to his current Opry role, he worked in Opry areas including marketing, communication and strategic partnerships.

Rogers serves as President of the Opry Trust Fund, assisting members of the country music community in need as well as other organizations.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

Rural Route 2, Xenia, Illinois. Population 450 at the time—now down to 380.

Wow! Were you musical when you were growing up?

Not in the least, but I always appreciated music. Some of my earliest memories are listening to the Grand Ole Opry and going to shows with my parents. Illinois is farm country, so [my priorities were] the farm, family, school and country music.

What were your career goals at that time?

My number one career goal was to do something that wasn’t reliant upon the weather for your success, as was our family farm. Other than that, I just had it in my head that you went to college and did something that paid the bills. But I somehow. didn’t realize until near the end of college that you could do something that not only paid the bills but also enriched your life and the lives of others.

I went to the University of Evansville in Indiana. It was a small college, and I loved the college experience so much that I thought I wanted to be a part of that for other students by working in administration. There were so few job opportunities when I graduated with a graduate degree specifically for that sort of role, that I had to seek out other opportunities, thinking that I would end up working in higher education when the economy turned around and colleges were hiring again. Instead, I went down a whole other path here at the Opry. Of course, I’m glad I did.

How did you make that transition?

I had continuing education dollars from my professional position, so I used those to basically work toward another graduate degree that earned me the opportunity to intern at the Opry. I started here as a marketing intern in 1998.

What were some of your earliest memories of the magic of the Opry?

I first came to the Opry as a fan during Christmas time in my kindergarten year. I had listened to the Opry, so when I started as an intern I came in wide-eyed and listening intently to every conversation going on everywhere. It was all so interesting how people attempted to fulfill the mission of keeping this great place rolling. I was learning everything from what happens on Monday for Saturday night’s show, to how the Opry worked to attract the next generation of fans and artists, to the community that had developed among Opry fans even in the days before social media.

Every new person I met and every conversation I had with a Grand Ole Opry member was all so fascinating to me. Anytime Garth Brooks was on, we might have a week’s notice to sell those tickets, and we’d have a packed house. That was just energizing and fun to watch from the moment you said it was happening until he walked out on stage.

I was assigned everything under the sun, but everything was interesting in its own way. I remember taking Jeanne Pruett and Jeannie Seely to welcome centers across the state of Tennessee to thank the good people who work behind those counters for their support of the Opry. I basically got to eavesdrop on their conversations for two straight days, which were very memorable to say the least.

How long were you an intern before you came on?

I started April of ’98 and my official internship was over in August. The last day of my internship, my supervisor at the time said, “We don’t have any open positions or you would be our first choice. You clearly love this place and love Nashville. If you want to stick around and do what you’re doing, we’ll do our best to help you find a job somewhere in Nashville.” It was a long six months or so of trying to pay the bills and racking up some credit card debt, but it was great. Every day was just about proving myself to the people at the Opry and acting like I was looking for a job when I really just wanted one here.

[I eventually came on] as the Assistant Marketing Manager. Then I was Marketing Manager, Senior Marketing Manager, Director of Marketing, Senior Director of Marketing and then Producer, Show Producer and now this current title.

Tell me about getting the job as Vice President/Executive Producer.

I continue to be incredibly thankful for the opportunity and for the support both from the people who gave me the opportunity and those with whom I work today. If ever there was a team, this is a team. They say “it takes a village.” This is an incredible village. You don’t do up to seven shows a week featuring up to 10 artists on each show by yourself. I was just incredibly honored, excited and thankful for the people I’ve worked with to get the job. I was indebted to people who I knew had bent folks’ ears about me. If you had told me when I was a kid that artists whose music I enjoyed were going to go to bat for me and say they wanted me to be entrusted with this incredible institution—I would have never believed that.

You started your new role in 2019, shortly before the pandemic took over the world. What was navigating that like?

At the end of the day, the Opry came out of the pandemic much stronger than beforehand. I think those who love the Opry were reminded why they love the Opry during that time. Saturday night after Saturday night I would sit at my desk and watch the comments coming through online of people saying, “We live halfway around the world and we set our alarm clocks [for the Grand Ole Opry livestreams] because we wanted to be a part of this as it was happening,” and “I haven’t interacted with people this week. This is what I’ve been looking forward to.”

I would get texts from people who I admired so much saying, “Oh my God, that was a great show. You’re making something great happen.” So you had people who loved it before being reminded why it was so important, and then you had people discovering this show in the oddest of circumstances. I believe more people probably saw the Opry when Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood took the stage together to a completely empty auditorium than had ever seen it before.

What are some of the proudest things you’ve been a part of while you’ve been at the Opry?

One show that I look back on and am so thankful for is our 5,000th Saturday night broadcast, which was October of 2021. We were able to have two sell-outs and it was what a great night at the Opry should be with new stars, superstars and legends of country music [on the bill]. I loved our tip of the hat to the past, but at the same time, you had artists singing their latest hits. You had folks like Connie Smith and Jeannie Seely on stage next to Dustin Lynch and Chris Young next to Vince Gill and Darius Rucker. That’s one that I’ll always appreciate.

Just a month or so ago, we celebrated Keith Whitley. I loved that show. It felt like the Opry gave Mr. Whitley his due and celebrated the icon he’s become since he passed away. That started with a call from Garth Brooks the night after he had inducted Keith Whitley into the Country Music Hall of Fame, saying, “What if we did this?” So, in addition to doing 220 other shows in that timeframe, we were also constantly thinking about how we could create this really great, meaningful show for Keith Whitley.

Any time we add a new member to the Opry I am both proud of the new member and for the new member. Scotty McCreery was just invited to join the family. I will never forget how he looked at me that night and said, “You made my night. No, you made my life.”

What’s a day in the life like for you?

They’re long, long days, but almost every day of my life I wake up excited about what’s to come either that night or that week. There’s always something special on the horizon, so a day in my life is usually fun and full of gratitude.

I’m not at every single show—I don’t feel like I have to be because I completely trust our team—but I’m at almost all of them. [Laughs] If we’re doing our job, there’s always a reason to be here. If there’s a person who’s debuting, I want to be here to say welcome. Night after night, there are moments I simply don’t want to miss.

Who have been some of your mentors through the years?

This job is incredible in that so many people can affect what you do in a great way. It really does feel like, in this community, everyone wants the Opry to succeed. There aren’t really competitors, there are collaborators. Sooner or later you find yourself working with almost everyone in the industry somehow, and I feel like I’ve learned something from so many people, including Opry members and young artists who are just knocking it out of the park.

Bill Anderson has been an Opry member longer than anyone in our history. Jeannie Seely has played the show more times than anyone in our history. I think about how much we can all learn from them and their staying power. I have mentors across the board from artists, managers, folks who are part of the business here and people who work alongside us every day. I want to be more like the people I see at the Opry who are, as much as anything else, are simply beloved members of a special community. Les Leverett was the Opry’s photographer before I ever came to the Opry. He made his mark in his own way and also just enjoyed the hell out of it. He created this great life, part of which was because of loving what he did here. We should all be so lucky.

What do you still have yet to do?

All of us here are really excited about the Opry’s 100th anniversary, which is in just two years. I see it as a huge opportunity. It’s really important to me that we recognize the shoulders on which we’re standing, and also use that opportunity as a catalyst to push the Opry into its next century. We want to celebrate country music and Nashville, and to thank everybody who’s been a part of our success to date.

Still left to do is to grow the Opry’s audience even more, to make it more easily accessible to everyone who loves music and country music around the world. I want us to help more people by growing the Opry Trust Fund and by utilizing the Opry to help others as we have done in the past few weeks with Susan G. Komen and Habitat for Humanity. I have my personal list of people that I would love to play the Opry for the first time. I want to see James Taylor sing “Sweet Baby James” on the Opry stage, and I want to see Eddie Vedder do a Johnny Cash classic. Another goal is to enhance the Opry artists’ experience and make sure the next generation of superstars is firmly planted in that circle.