Monday, October 25, 2010

GRAND OLE OPRY

IMG_7474 We finally found a campground north of Nashville about 15 miles. Nashville Country RV Park. It’s okay and reasonably convenient for exploring Nashville.

The first thing I did after we got set up was to call the Opry to get tickets for Friday night’s show. They had lots of tickets available and we had really great seats up in the Mezzanine.

But before we go to the Opry we need to see some of the pictures of the flood that hit Nashville last May.

flood This is where we purchased our tickets for our tour and caught our trolley.

flood1

flood2 Even the Grand Ole Opry was underwater.

flood3The Cumberland River really devastated this area but they are coming back strong. The Opryland Hotel is still closed but plans to reopen the middle of November. The Mall that is next to the Grand Ole Opry House is still closed and no one is sure if they will be able to reopen. The Bass Pro Shop, one of the mall’s anchor stores, has reopened.

Here are some of the pictures posted on their website showing how deep the water was. Just amazing.

The performances at the Opry are a live radio show which makes for a very interesting and different experience. It’s definitely not like a concert and is very laid back.

MVI_7482The performers come out and do two songs and then there is a commercial. Then the next performer comes out and does two songs and then another commercial. Also, people are moving around the stage all the time even during the performances.

MVI_7495The line up for our performance was: George Hamilton IV; Jimmy Dickens (who is 89 and still going strong).

Dailey & Vincent (bluegrass) MVI_7503

Connie Smith

MVI_7502

Riders in The SkyMVI_7501-1 MVI_7497 John Michael MontgomeryMVI_7496 Stonewall Jackson MVI_7490 Restless Heart

IMG_7484 Did you notice the round circle of wood that is a different color on the stage? That piece of wood is from the Ryman Auditorium where the Opry performed for several years before they opened their own stage in 1974. It was on this piece of wood (when it was still at the Ryman) that Patsy Cline performed. Jim got to meet Patsy at a fire fighters hall in VA and it was exciting to know she stood on that piece of wood when she performed.

5 comments:

  1. I definitely want to do the Grand Ole Opry one of these days. It's on my list but not in the floods.

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  2. Commercials! Doug would not like that. Were remotes supplied?

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  3. WOW...you two saw a ton of entertainers. You must have been there all night. Glad it is all cleaned up and ready to go. We saw a special on the clean up process on TV. Enjoy the ride.

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  4. We once went to a performance of Prairie Home Companion. Garrison Keillor reads from a script then drops the pages on the floor. Yup, radio performances are not like concerts. :)

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  5. Glad you are enjoying the sites of Nashville. Did you get to see the Ryman (original Opry)? Oh, I wish I had known you were going to Nashville Country RV - we hated that place. When do you depart Nashville? If you have time, walking around the Bicentennial Mall is nice.

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