Things are slowly getting back to normal up on Opryland Drive.
The Grand Ole Opry announced today that Friday night shows will be returning to the lineup starting in November.
Both the Friday and Saturday night shows will also be expanded to two hours, with the Saturday show featuring a one-hour broadcast on Circle TV at 8 PM central.
Since the country shut down back in March, the Opry has “kept the circle unbroken” with a weekly 1-hour show on Saturday night that’s been broadcast live online and on Circle TV. They also began to welcome fans back last week, with an in-person audience of 500 (masked) country music fans allowed back in the pews of the Opry House.
The Opry, which had somewhat of a return to its roots as a radio show when they were forced to close due to COVID, notched its 4,995th consecutive Saturday show this past weekend, dating back to 1925 when the Opry was launched as the WSM Barn Dance.
Since then, the show that is now the Grand Ole Opry has played on through World War II, the Great Depression, and even the 2010 flood that destroyed the stage at the Opry House.
Pre-pandemic, the Opry featured 3-hour shows on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights, usually in front of sold-out crowds of more than 4,000 people. And while we’re still a ways away from getting back to normal, it’s great to see “the show that made country music famous” taking another step in the right direction – because don’t we all need more live music right now?
This past weekend’s show featured Carly Pearce, Josh Turner, Jeannie Seely and Niko Moon, while this week’s show will feature Bill Anderson, Mandy Barnett, Brandy Clark, Chris Janson, and Don Schlitz.
