Visiting Nashville is all about getting wrapped up in country music and a key point in that is of course The Grand Ole Opry. It is here that thousands of music stars throughout history have performed carving out their name in Nashville’s title of ‘Music City’. It is considered one of the crowning achievements as a musician to be asked to perform at The Grand Ole Opry.
But The Grand Ole Opry wasn’t always a place. Originally started in November of 1925 it was the name of a weekly segment on the radio that offered a “one hour barn dance” that brought in the best music artists of country, folk, bluegrass, and gospel. Then in the 1930’s it expanded to a four hour block on the radio and then moved to being on a national radio broadcasting system. And then in 1943, with their ever growing popularity, they moved into their own place at the Ryman Auditorium. Later in 1974 they expanded again into the building that is now known as the Grand Ole Opry, but they still hold concerts at the Ryman Auditorium for several months in the year.
We decided to spend a morning walking around this iconic Nashville place. The building itself is a great mix of wood and glass, with the music of the stars playing over the grounds. They do offer backstage tours of the Opry House, however we decided against it because we felt the tickets were too expensive for such a short tour. Tours are 15 minutes long and will take you on right up to the stage of the Opry. If you want to take a tour, I would suggest to book your ticket in advance because they go very quickly. But even without the backstage experience, just walking around the outside of the Opry is an experience in itself and being there is a paramount part of visiting this city.
Love the giant sized guitars at the Grand Ole Opry. The barn dances sounded fun, at junior school we had country dancing lessons and I can remember always looking forward to them. A great post, thanks for sharing. Marion
Thank you Marion 🙂 How fun that they gave country dancing lessons at your school! We use to go country dancing every Wednesday when we were college and it was always the best night of the week.
Ah, this is a special place and yet another site I didn’t get round to in Tennessee. I did however make it to The Ryman, which I recently wrote up and is scheduled for publication towards the end of the month. Never heard of a fifteen minute tour!
Oh I’m excited to read your Tennessee posts! I just can’t understand having a tour that is only 15 minutes, much less one that costs $30/person for those 15 minutes. But I guess for die hard Opry fans it would be well worth it.