Latest news with #GrandOleOpry
Associated Press
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Gary Patrick: Josie Award Nominations and Upcoming Performance at 'Dallas' Cast Reunion
'The love and support I've felt from my wife, family, and community has been overwhelming. It's shown me just how many people truly believe in what I'm doing.'— Gary Patrick DALLAS TEXAS, TX, UNITED STATES, July 23, 2025 / / -- Singer and songwriter Gary Patrick has received four nominations from the 2025 Josie Music Awards taking place on November 2nd. The event is now in it's 11th year of celebrating independent artists and in it's fourth year at the Grand Ole Opry House. Patrick is nominated in the categories of Music Video of the Year, Americana Male Vocalist of the Year, Americana Male Artist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. Known for his authentic songwriting and performances, Patrick describes the recognition as both humbling and motivating. 'There's always a personal challenge to keep improving my craft,' he shares. 'Participating in the Josie Awards has really pushed me forward. I'm still blown away and incredibly grateful to be recognized by the organization.' The Josie Awards have become a major milestone in Patrick's music career. In 2024, he won two categories: Americana Male Artist of the Year and Americana Male Vocalist of the Year. More than 60 fans, family, and friends traveled to Nashville to support him—and he's expecting an even bigger turnout in 2025. 'I already have many friends who've bought tickets,' he says. 'The love and support I've felt from my wife, family, and community has been overwhelming. It's shown me just how many people truly believe in what I'm doing.' When asked if he's preparing a speech, Patrick says, 'I like to speak from the heart, but I did write down some names the night before last year's show. I'll probably do the same this year. Time flies when you're up there—you've got to be quick to think.' Patrick also emphasizes the strong sense of community that the Josie Music Awards have fostered. 'The artist-to-artist support at the Josie Awards is incredible. It's one of the most welcoming and encouraging artist communities I've ever been a part of,' he says. 'Josie and Tina Marie have created something really special—I truly appreciate their professionalism and commitment to indie artists around the world.' In addition to his nominations, on Saturday, August 9th, Patrick will also be performing for the Southfork Experience, a 'Dallas' cast reunion and fan event. A lifelong fan of the iconic TV series Dallas, he calls the opportunity a dream come true. 'It's a full-circle moment,' he says. 'That show was what my family watched together when I was a kid. Back then, everything felt larger than life—'Who shot J.R.?' was huge! Dallas was magic; and it is still captivating audiences around the world.' 'There's so much we're looking forward to this year,' says Patrick. 'We'll be performing at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson in front of the 'Dallas' cast and fans of the show. A couple of months later, we head to Nashville and you're all invited along for the journey.' Gary Patrick Press Team email us here Visit us on social media: Instagram Facebook YouTube Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Carly Pearce Does Dolly Parton Tribute at the Ryman — ‘Straight Out of a Country Music Dream'
Carly Pearce Does Dolly Parton Tribute at the Ryman — 'Straight Out of a Country Music Dream' originally appeared on Parade. Country star Carly Pearce joined the legions of Dolly Parton fans paying tribute to the country legend by sharing her take on Parton's 1973 hit "Jolene." Considered one of the defining songs of country music, "Jolene" has been covered by musical icons as wide-ranging as Beyoncé to Jay-Z. Pearce's take on the iconic song was part of the Grand Ole Opry's 100th-anniversary celebration, Opry 100: A Live 35, called Parton one of her musical heroes, stating it was an honor to pay homage to the 79-year-old legend. The stunning performance was part of Pearce's 40-show Hummingbird Tour and took place at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. Pearce also reflected on the performance on her own Instagram account, calling it a 'moment straight out of a country music dream.' While much speculation has been made about the subject of Parton's "Jolene," the song is said to have been inspired by a red-headed bank teller who flirted with Parton's husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean. The famously private Dean passed away in March at the age of 82."Jolene" has been covered over 400 times, according to People magazine. Parton has cited Mindy Smith's version as one of her favorites—though she'll likely be adding Pearce's fresh take to her list. 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 Carly Pearce Does Dolly Parton Tribute at the Ryman — 'Straight Out of a Country Music Dream' first appeared on Parade on Jul 17, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Urban cowboys, harmonica wizards and queer trailblazers: 100 years of the Grand Ole Opry, country music's greatest institution
It's the only American radio show that's been on the air for 100 years, an institution that launched the country music industry as we know it and a stage production that made country fans flock to Nashville in the first place – and keeps them coming for a singular experience today. 'I somehow understood the weight of what I was stepping into,' says Marty Stuart of the Grand Ole Opry, specifically the first night he played in 1972 as a mandolin-playing prodigy sitting in with bluegrass star Lester Flatt's band. Stuart went on to become a country star, and Opry member, himself, and has now embraced the role of elder on the show: on 26 September, he along with Luke Combs, Darius Rucker, Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce will take part in the Opry's first-ever overseas broadcast at the Royal Albert Hall, as part of a year-long 100th birthday celebration. 'A hundred years of anything, especially in show business, it's just unheard of,' he marvels. It has been a centrepiece in Stuart's life for most of his 66 years: as a kid in small town Mississippi in the 1960s, he listened to Opry radio broadcasts from Nashville. By the early 90s, he was scoring hits as 'a rhinestone-wearin' country rock'n'roller', and the Opry's longtime legends – particularly fiddling balladeer Roy Acuff and comic personality Minnie Pearl – were nearing the end of their lives. Stuart sought their approval: 'They had spent their lives building that institution, and I wanted to know that I was on the good side of the line with both of those folks.' Both did give him their blessing, but Pearl made him sweat first. She looked right past the armful of white roses he brought her, critiqued his attire – 'Look at those tight pants!' – and admonished him to maintain the Opry's good image. He kept the pants, but took her wishes to heart, and the basics of a night at the Opry's downhome variety show have remained much the same. 'It is not, on paper, the makings of a successful show,' laughs Dan Rogers, the Opry's executive producer. Recorded and broadcast live in front of an audience, announcers project a mixture of folksy intimacy and professionalism as they welcome everyone, read sponsor ad messages and introduce world-class performers who do a few songs each, prioritising old chestnuts that they know fans want to hear. Any given night, the lineup may include mainstream country stars of the present and the distant past, bluegrass bands, gospel vocal groups, singer-songwriters, hotshot instrumentalists, down-home comedians, square dancers and more. Lineups often span several generations and are often described as one big family: back in March, the Opry's most veteran member, 87-year-old Bill Anderson, appeared the same night that Stuart and his band the Fabulous Superlatives backed his bassist's rockabilly obsessed, 10-year-old son. The Opry has absorbed a century's worth of technological, musical and cultural evolution at a very measured pace. Its leadership has apologised for employing blackface duos in its early days; its traditional barn backdrop is now comprised of video walls and its stage has welcomed artists bringing hip-hop, gen-Z folk and TikTok virality to the genre. 'You have to evolve,' says Rogers. 'It's a must for survival and for creating really interesting shows – but you do it in a way that's really respectful of this institution.' Today, membership of the Opry, awarded to a small cadre of musicians – just 76 living artists – has become one of the industry's greatest honours. The Opry was originally almost incidental programming on a radio station, WSM, launched in 1925 by National Life and Accident, a Nashville insurance company looking to promote its business. Station managers filled the airwaves with a hodgepodge of locally available acts, professional or not, and people soon began showing up to watch the broadcast. 'It was a matter of: let's see who we can get to come in here,' says historian Brenda Colladay, a longtime curator of the Opry's collections who has helped to research a thorough 100th anniversary book. There was no such genre as country music when the show launched, just regionally specific versions of old-time music, dance tunes and folk songs. Over time, the sheer variety of performers featured in Opry lineups helped forge a cohesive identity out of those disparate styles, fundamentally shaping how we understand country. Alongside light classical fare were acts such as Uncle Dave Macon, a banjo-playing vaudevillian, and DeFord Bailey, a young Black harmonica wizard whose family string band had long played area dances. The Opry was essentially a barn dance on the radio, an already popular concept – they poached their master of ceremonies George D Hay from a rival show in Chicago. But the Opry initially faced local opposition from upper-class residents who fancied Nashville 'the Athens of the South', complete with a replica of the Parthenon, then under construction. 'It made some people ashamed that [Nashville was] associated with hillbilly music,' Colladay says, including Tennessee governor Prentice Cooper who declined an invitation to attend an Opry celebration: 'He felt like it was really hurting Nashville's reputation.' Cooper was vastly outnumbered by the listeners who heard themselves in the show. As it went nationwide, it developed a massive, devoted following among rural and small-town listeners, as well as southerners who had migrated to industrialised cities. It got so popular that National Life and Accident executives got annoyed with rowdy fans clamouring to watch the live broadcasts at the company offices, and the Opry eventually moved to Nashville's Ryman Auditorium in 1943. By then, it was no longer free to get in, and WSM had established an in-house booking agency that sent performers on the road. Staff and stars saw opportunities to capitalise on the show's dominance in other ways, starting a recording studio, music publishing houses and enough other businesses to entice New York-based record labels to set up local operations. The presence of the Opry ensured that Nashville became home to the emerging, professionalised country music industry. It was where the thrillingly hard-driving new style of bluegrass was fleshed out, and where honky-tonk singers and folk-friendly troubadours alike found a home, but the show was sometimes too cautious to embrace trends. Take Elvis Presley: when he wasn't invited back after his first Opry appearance, he moved on to a rival show in Louisiana. Stuart says the Opry might occasionally overcorrect, and points to its early-80s focus on the slick 'urban cowboy' movement: 'From time to time, I would tune in to the Opry, and when they introduced somebody, I kind of knew what song they were about to sing and what joke they were going to tell. It was a little weary.' Splashy additions like the Opryland theme park and regularly televised broadcasts on the Nashville Network brought in new listeners, as did the 2010s TV drama Nashville, set in the city's country songwriting scene. But because the Opry was home to many generations of performers at once, there were times when some of the dedicated members felt they were denied opportunities to appear – Stonewall Jackson brought an age discrimination lawsuit, which was settled with undisclosed terms. And of more than 230 acts granted membership over the years only two Black country stars, the late Charley Pride and Darius Rucker, have been inducted since Bailey – and Bailey was fired during a copyright-related dispute in 1941, an injustice the Opry recently apologised for. But Rogers reports that for the last few years a double digit percentage of Opry's performers have been artists of colour, making it much more diverse than contemporary country radio; according to leading researcher Dr Jada Watson, radio devoted less than 3% of its spins to artists of colour in 2024, despite Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter coming out that year. Rogers' team began tracking performer demographics internally a few years back, 'because it is right for this community and right for this show'. Equal Access, a DEI programme that helps businesspeople and music-makers of underrepresented identities navigate the country music industry, has forged a friendly relationship with the Opry. Programme manager Chantrel Reynolds says she and her colleagues made sure it was a safe space for discussing the Opry's complex history with race before they began arranging visits with Opry leadership, and she finds that acknowledgment refreshingly 'different from a lot of spaces' in country music. The Opry, she says, is 'actively trying to programme these things, not just in Black History Month, but all year round'. With the help of Equal Access, contemporary country artist Angie K got her first chance to play the Opry last year. 'I was the first person from El Salvador to play that stage,' she says. 'I needed to be not just good – I have to be great, so great that they think, 'We need to do this again with another Latin artist.'' She had scoured Opry history for predecessors who are queer and Hispanic like she is. 'I'm very aware that there's not many. What I love about the Opry is there's still room to grow – they're making a very intentional effort to change.' On the show, she sang originals addressing women as romantic interests, and she was 'very grateful that a lot of people came up and said, 'I'm so happy that you said those pronouns.'' For his part, Stuart marvels at how the Opry always finds its way back to varied vitality after weathering all manner of growing pains: 'The thing that the history books tell me is that every institution goes through that from time to time'. The Opry expects decorum: there's no alcohol backstage, just tea and lemonade, and in keeping with Federal Communications Commission rules, no cursing on stage. But Rogers sometimes dispenses reassurance to first-time performers who assume they should be at their most traditionalist. 'That crowd out there is really full of all kinds of people, all walks of life,' he tells them. 'Bring what you do to this stage. We wouldn't have invited you to be on this stage if we weren't up for what you bring.' Grand Ole Opry: Live in London is at Royal Albert Hall, London, Friday 26 September
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ashley McBryde to bring Southern charm to the Bay Area
Ashley McBryde's college professor suggested she drop out to pursue music full time when she was studying french horn at Arkansas State University. Once she did, her life changed forever. The musician was raised in a strict Southern household, where she recalled being drawn to tunes by the Carpenters and Kris Kristofferson and trying out her father's guitar. Her early interest in music prompted her parents to buy her a guitar of her own, empowering McBryde to begin writing her own songs at age 12. Since then, the country singer has received a number of country music accolades, from being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry to earning a Grammy Award. She has released four studio albums extolling the honky tonk life and has become known for melding elements of rock, bluegrass and country. Her most recent record, 'The Devil I Know,' was released in 2023. Earlier this year, before embarking on her 30-date tour, the country star received received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Arkansas State University.
Sunday World
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Irish country music star on how he nearly lost everything before getting sober
'I'm totally up for talking and being open about my struggles with alcohol if it can help to inspire somebody else.' Ryan appreciates how supportive his wife Michelle and five children have been Ryan with T Graham Brown, who had a big hit with Wine Into Water Irish country musician Ryan Turner looks back on his life a decade ago and admits: 'I had €50 in my pocket and I was a mess.' The dad-of-five reveals that he was in the grip of alcohol addiction and at risk of losing everything he cherished, having been told to leave the family home several times. As he celebrates 10 years of sobriety, Turner, who has played keyboards in bands with everyone from Margo O'Donnell to Patrick Feeney and Louise Morrissey, says he's speaking out in the hope that his story will inspire others. Ryan with the Gene Watson band at the Grand Ole Opry 'I'm not ashamed of it because I have come out the other side,' Ryan tells Magazine+. 'I'm totally up for talking and being open about it if I can inspire somebody else.' Now enjoying success with his own group, The Ryan Turner Band, the Donegal man from Carndonagh admits that he started drinking at the age of 17. 'He says: 'I was playing music from a very young age and that's one thing about the music industry — you're around alcohol all the time. 'People think they're doing you a favour buying you a drink… one leads to another and time goes by…weeks, months and years…and eventually for me after a period of time I felt I was tied up in it. 'Even though I tried to not let it affect my work and I was trying to be professional, as a musician working in bands I did treat Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as my weekend. Ryan's son Luke after riding a winner for his boss Willie Mullins 'My work was at weekends, so I thought it was normal to go to the pub those weekdays as I regarded it as my Friday, Saturday and Sunday, even though when I was working I was still having a few pints over the weekend.' Ryan, whose children are aged 24 to 15, admits that he neglected his family during his booze-fuelled days. Paying tribute to his partner, Michelle, the mother of his children, he says: 'I'm not going to lie about it, Michelle had a huge task because she was raising five kids by herself up to the point that I quit drinking. 'I was just gone all the time, so she did most of that on her own. If I wasn't working I still wasn't at home… I was gone and I was drinking and I was partying.' How did Michelle put up with that? 'I don't know, she's a saint,' Ryan responds. Ryan appreciates how supportive his wife Michelle and five children have been Did she not throw you out? 'Oh I was thrown out several times. Nobody would put up with that,' he admits. Despite the turmoil in his personal life, Turner couldn't quit the cycle of boozing. 'A very close friend of mine since childhood, another Donegal man, songwriter and musician 'Shunie Crampsey, would talk to me,' Ryan says. 'He knew the pubs where he'd find me and he would talk to me. Ultimately that was a big part of my reason for quitting… he talked to me and inspired me. 'I was completely in denial that I had a problem and he pleaded with me to try one year off the drink. 'I remember clearly him sitting and saying to me, 'Please just try one year, a week is no good, a month is no good, you have to do a year… and you have to do a first of everything, a first Christmas, a first birthday.' Ryan with T Graham Brown, who had a big hit with Wine Into Water 'He said, 'Once you do that year, if you don't feel any better I'll personally take you back to the pub. The drink will always be there to go back to. 'So I did the year with help from Shunie and another singer, Hugo McLoughlin. Both those guys were so, so good to me and supportive of me and checked in on me on a daily basis for the first few months. The first year was tough, there's no doubt about it, but I got over those hurdles. When I got the first year over Shunie rang me and he said, 'Well, I know you have your year done, how do you feel?' 'I said, 'I think I'll do another year.' That's 10 years past on the 21st of June. I attended about three meetings of AA in that time and I found it helpful to see that I wasn't alone in it. There were so many other people struggling with the same addiction and I learnt there that it wasn't something to be embarrassed about, that it was a disease, and I learnt that there was help.' Turner is particularly grateful that today his relationship with Michelle and their family has never been better. He talks about a son who is a successful jockey with top trainer Willie Mullins, while his youngest son is a musician and they perform together. 'Everything is great now and I'm delighted that after it all I have a life,' he adds.
