Last month The Grand Ole Opry heard that ‘the award-winning, GAY, celebrity travel columnists’ would be in Nashville and they hosted us for the night. The “Grand Ole Opry” is a LIVE radio show that features a variety of different country/western singers. The evening that we attended the following country/western singers were entertaining: Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs, Joe Diffie, LOCASH, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jackie Lee, Kelleigh Bannen and Jeannie Selley and Connie Smith, most of whom we had never heard of, but then we are not diehard Country/Western fans.
The show is unlike any other shows that we have attended in that they have around 8 performers that comes out and each performs a couple of songs and that’s it! Then another singer comes out and sings a couple of songs and then the onstage announcer comes out and tells the radio audience about what companies that are advertising and goes into his spiel.
At first it was kind of interesting however after the second and third advertising it got rather boring to hear advertising. The live broadcasts can be heard on 650, WSM-AM and also on Willie’s Roadhouse on Sirius XM radio and online at www.opry.com on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights. They have performed consecutive Saturday night broadcasts for over 4,700 nights.
The Opry has had six locations in its 92 years…… It started out at the National Insurance Company in 1925 and then moved to the Hillsboro Theatre in 1934 and then to the Dixie Tabernacle in 1936 and then to the War Memorial Auditorium in 1939. It settled into the Ryman Auditorium in 1943 and stayed there until 1974 when a new Grand Ole Opry complex was build in 1974 which is about 8 miles east of downtown Nashville. The complex not only includes the Grand Ole Opry but a huge hotel and shopping mall.
There are always a few who will step up to the plate and COME OUT proudly. Thanks Ty Herndon, Chely Wright, Steve Grand, Brandy Clark, K. D. Lang ,Doug Stevens, Shane McAnally and Patrick Haggerty and they are all great country/western singers!
For those that are REALLY into western songs, check out this Willie Nelson song which is about Gay Cowboys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4CXlIYjyE
To visit the Grand Ole Opry, be sure and visit their website, www.opry.com/
Their address is 2804 Opryland Drive and their phone number 615.871.6779. Everyone should visit the Grand Ole Opry at least once!
We rarely dedicate our travel columns to anyone but we are proudly dedicating this travel column to the #1 Country Entertainer, Dolly Parton who has been so supportive for the LGBT community for years. We only wish that everybody would have as big of a heart as she does as then the world would be a much better place to live. THANKS DOLLY!
Always remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone!
TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning, Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from coast to coast (And now legally married).
Proud members of the IGLTA. You can email them at gaytravelers@aol.com and visit their website at http://gaytravelersataol.blogspot.com/