Performances by Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Chris Janson, Ella Langley, John Pardi, Riders In The Sky, and Maggie Rose
If you want to see music in Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium are like air and water, because they are necessities. I had a chance to visit the Ryman on January 29th and saw Elvis Costello and the Impostors with Charlie Sexton and it was a spectacular experience to say the least.
The Ryman Auditorium originally opened as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892. Its aesthetic is exactly as one might imagine a large church from the 1800’s. It’s grand, it’s alluring and pristine. As you enter the venue you notice everything slopes slightly towards the stage and you are immediately awestruck by its design. The seating is that of long- row- pew like seats that stretch across the floors of two stories, and it houses roughly 2500 people. There is no bad seat here and the sound holds perfection to the ear.
The Grand Ole Opry is more of the same. I had the chance to bring my sister and my mom here for the first time. A bucket list item for all three of us. Thank you so much to my friend Josh for making all this possible. It was a Tuesday night, and we weren’t sure what to expect. Would it be packed? Maybe a thinner gathering?
However, it wouldn’t matter because we were together. That’s the beauty and the power of music. The precious sounds and harmonies were going to take away all life’s worries for a few hours. Plus, it’s Nashville, at The Grand Ole Opry, it couldn’t fail. The lineup featured Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Chris Janson, Ella Langley, John Pardi, Riders In The Sky, and Maggie Rose. The range of talent in this line up was collectively sublime.
The Grand Old Opry is celebrating 50 years in the Opry House. It’s the longest-running radio broadcast in the United States. Maybe, more importantly, it is the oldest institution in all of country music. It started airing its radio show in 1925, two years before the recording sessions took place in Bristol, Tennessee. These years are often referred to as “The Big Bang of Country Music” by historians.
The stage is set with red draped curtains that hang down from the ceiling to the wood planked stage. It is classic and elegant. Two ON AIR signs bookcase the tapestries. You are instantly transported back in time. Brick and wood paneled walls encapsulated the harmonious and sweet-sounding ghosts of yesteryear as well as today. One can feel the melodious history all around.
The ON AIR lights illuminate, and we are a go. The announcer for the evening is journalist Kelly Sutton who calls the first act to their place. This four-man group was a quintessential way to start the festivities. They are Riders In The Sky. It’s Ranger Doug on guitar, Too Slim with the bass, Woody Paul rocking the fiddle and accordionist Joey, the CowPolka King. They’ve been performing for 46 years. Ranger Doug announces to the audience, “You’ll have to listen to sagebrush and cowhide before you get the country”. Their set is chock full of humor, but these fellas are no “joke band”. They are super talented and blend whimsical whit with great original western music. When Joey is singled out by the band, Ranger Bob says, “Joey plays his accordion just like today’s media. He plays two sides against the middle”. The crowd explodes in laughter and the quartet dives headfirst into a song called “On The Rhythm Range”.
The fiddle in this tune sounds like fireflies buzzing through the theater. The music reminds one of summer, watermelon, lakes, and children dancing in fields. The seventy somethings wrap up their time as our entertainment by starting a singalong to “Happy Trails”. We all join up as if we are all best friends around a campfire. We are off to an amazing start.
Our wonderful host declares that “Country Maverick” Ella Langley is our next performer. Ella is coming to us off her new album “Excuse The Mess”. She is clad in all black and strapped for battle donning her guitar. A full band is at her back. Her voice is powerful and pierces through the auditorium and careens off the back walls. Rock’n’roll riffs flow in and out from behind the statuesque figure as she plays “Country Boys Dream Girl” as her opening number. You can tell why she is here. The performances are short on this night. It’s just three songs per act and the whole bill is just two hours in total.
Ella sings “Nicotine” next, which shows off her wonderful and heartwarming writing skills. She belts out, “Take my breath make it hard to breathe/ The one I want but just don’t need/ Baby be my nicotine”. It’s a wonderfully creative metaphor.
She then finishes with an acoustic set that includes a second guitarist. She takes a moment to engage us with a story of singing at her grandparents. Ella paints a picture of her and her grandmother harmonizing and her grandfather playing the piano in the background. Her next words are, “From singing at restaurants with two people or no people and now I’m on stage at the Grand Old Opry. Dreams do come true!” Sometimes that exclamation sounds cliche but not tonight, and not when it’s truly from the heart.
The music continues with a poetic presentation by Maggie Rose. She starts her night with “Underestimate Me”. Maggie sings with resilience and maybe a tiny little chip on her shoulder. Her voice is doused in soul with a dash of blues. Her voice pens the words, “Pay me no mind and you’re gonna find/ I’ll be sneaking up on you in no time/ Please, please, please, please, please/ Underestimate me”. This type of mantra flickers in my heart but never burns out, and as she sings that flame grows. We feel her strength.
She pauses before the next and says, “this one has a little vinegar on it”. Maggie then bleeds into a new song that comes out soon called, “Fake Flowers”. I feel like this could be a Billie Holiday song. I close my eyes for a moment and pretend it is being sung in some small smoky club in Harlem. Maggie leaves us with, “Use the time that you’ve got why you’ve got it.” She rips into her title track from the new album, “No One Gets Out Alive”. The night just gets better and better and I love that I am here with my family. My mom sits between my sister and I and grips our hands throughout the night. I am delighted that we have this time. You can’t get that back. We know that. We are present.
Whisperin’ Bill Anderson gets the spotlight next, and he is pure joy. He is an entertainer in every sense of the word. He’s the longest living member of the Grand Ole Opry, joining 50 years ago. He is a classic crooner and his grace on stage shows that he is a dedicated professional. Bill combines elegance and humor to ease our minds. One such song entitled, “Wherever She Is” boasts the lines “Wherever she is I hope she stays there/ Whoever she’s with he’s welcome to my nightmare/ It’s sure nice it’s paradise without her in my hair/ Wherever she is I hope she stays there”. So many laughs throughout this tune. He is such an exuberant performer and a must see. The lights come up and we are prepared for the last two showcases of this experience.
With the pronouncement of the soon to be next spot the energy goes up to eleven. It’s Chris Janson and he is getting the crowd hyped by screaming “I can’t hear you baby! I can’t hear you baby!” He exclaims this repeatedly as the crowd hits back with steady hand clapping. The song is called “Good Vibes”. This dude is about bringing the party and maybe the afterparty too. Midway through the song he pulls out a harmonica and man, can he blow.
Chris rolls this enthusiastic track into “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”. Yes, the Hymn. The concertgoers all join in with reverent singing. He becomes our preacher and our therapist and our friend. His smile and spirit are brighter than all the stage lights. As he performs, he leans into the front row and takes time to acknowledge and sing along with the young fan who knows all the words to his hit. She is beyond the moon as they join hands in their final notes together. He concludes with his chart topper “Buy Me A Boat”. Many, maybe most, onlookers sing along. He mesmerizes us once again with his harp, as it blazes off his lip and into a standing ovation.
As the people take their seats, and Chris exits the stage, our commentator makes it known that this next player is the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. He is John Pardi. He commands the stage from his very first breathe. There is an onslaught of twangy guitar, steady drums and tickling keys backing his vocals. It all flows into an amalgamation of toe tapping ecstasy. He belts out “Your Heart or Mine” with assertiveness and vigor. The vibrance and enthusiasm is infectious. Big bass and driving drums with a fluttery electric guitar sprinkled over the top of it all. Cowboy hat covered heads can be seen in unison, bopping in agreement, and appreciation of Pardi. He brings down the House with “Heartache Medication”. I don’t know the words, but I am surely in the minority here. Pardi’s high-energy and his obvious love of life and truthful essential being, is so present in his performance. What an incredible night.
These gorgeous people, with such brilliant talent have made this time with my family extra special. We walked out of this show with that dumbfounded amazement on our faces and in our hearts. If you get a chance to go to a show at The Grand Ole Opry, please go. Please share in its majestic wonderment and please share it with someone you love. Don’t wait. Time is precious.
