5000 Saturday Shows. Congrats to Grand Ole Opry

One of my bucket list items is a trip to Nashville Tennessee.  I have never been.  And as someone who has been in country radio for many years, this seems blasphemous.  But it will happen one day.  And one of the stops will be the legendary Grand Ole Opry.

This past weekend, the Opry celebrated an amazing milestone.  5000 straight Saturday night shows.  And a who's who of country music stars were there to be a part of it.  Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Darius Rucker, Chris Young, Vince Gill, and many more were on hand.

WSM Radio carried the broadcast, just as it did almost 100 years ago.  It was also available to be streamed online.   The Opry delivered what it has promised since family and friends began gathering for broadcasts thousands of Saturdays ago: A night of country music entertainment.

Here was your setlist if you missed the show:

• Opening ensemble medley: "Wabash Cannonball" (Bill Anderson), "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," (Connie Smith), "San Antonio Rose" (Gatlin Brothers), "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (Darius Rucker), "Coal Miner's Daughter" (Terri Clark) and "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" (Chris Janson)
• Terri Clark: "Better Things To Do"
• The Gatlin Brothers: "All The Gold In California"
• Dustin Lynch: "Cowboys and Angels"
• Bill Anderson: "Still," "When Two Worlds Collide" (with Jeannie Seely)
•  Chris Janson: "Buy Me A Boat"
• The Isaacs, John Conlee and Connie Smith: "Amazing Grace"
• Vince Gill: "Way Downtown," "Making Plans"
• Connie Smith: "Once A Day"
• John Conlee: "Rose Colored Glasses"
• Jeannie Seely: "Don't Touch Me"
• Ensemble: "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" (Smith, Conlee, Seely, Lynch and Chris Young)
• Chris Young: "Kiss An Angel Good Morning," "Gettin' You Home"
• Darius Rucker: "Walkin' After Midnight," "Beers and Sunshine"
• Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood: "Callin' Baton Rouge," "She's In Love With The Boy," "In Another's Eyes," "Two Pina Coladas," "How Do I Live," "The River," "Walkaway Joe," "Friends In Low Places"

For country music artists, being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry is still a huge deal, and it really is a sign that you have made it in country music.  And for a show to still be going after 5000 shows, and it shows no signs of stopping, this is a major accomplishment.   Congratulations again to the Grand Ole Opry.  I look forward to visiting you someday.