When in Nashville, you really can’t miss a trip to the Grand Ole Opry. We unfortunately did not catch a show there, but we did get a backstage tour. As we are not country fans, the Opry was a bit foreign to us and the younger ones in our group were not looking forward to the tour at all. Turns out they had fun and learned a lot, and it was a highlight of the trip for them!
The Opry has shows many nights of the week and you can find the calendar online. There are often eight or more performers in any given performance, and there may be surprise guests as well – you never know who will show up. From what I’ve heard, there is no bad seat in the audience, so don’t hesitate to get one of the less expensive tickets if you’re unsure.
The Opry has backstage tours leaving every 15 minutes and they are $45 or so a ticket. You can book in advance or just show up and go to the ticket office. We did the latter, and had to wait about 45 minutes for our tour on a holiday weekend.
While we waited for our tour, we visited Roy Acuff’s house which is across from the ticketing area (there are changing exhibits in there – and you’ll learn all about Roy Acuff inside). There is also a large gift shop which is entertaining to walk around. Also there’s some music inside – on TVs. If the weather is nice, you can hang out outside at the Ford seating area or another bench area (it was really hot when we visited, so outside seating was not so pleasant). Lastly, there’s the Opry Mills Mall across the Opry – literally two lanes away – it shares a parking lot.
You’ll start your Grand Ole Opry Backstage Tour watching a video in the room above. There is a high-tech movie narrated by Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood, explaining the Opry and its significance, which is good for those of us who are less knowledgeable! It was well done.
The Grand Ole Opry backstage tour guide brings you into the lobby area to explain how the tour will work – you’ll go through the Opry like any performer would. They wouldn’t start in the lobby, like you, but you first see the Gibson guitar lights. It was created by Gibson for the Opry and costs $90,000.
Every performer at the Opry enters through the doors above, and while you can’t see it, there’s a fountain out there of a girl, gifted by Minnie Pearl after her death. You can see a painting of Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff below, and these were in the warehouse-feeling backstage area at the Opry (there were other paintings of famous singers there as well).
While a bit blurry, you can see extra microphones below, used on stage for performances. The Opry has long been a weekly radio show, 650 WSM.
Before we saw the dressing rooms, we went back to the check-in area where the performers would go after walking through the double doors. This seems out of order for the performers’ entrance (and it is) but they wanted us to see the area above first, along with a studio where Hee Haw was filmed. Many in our tour were old enough to remember watching Hee Haw though our kids had no clue what that was.
Each performer checks in at the desk (not pictured) and receives their dressing room assignment. There are A LOT of dressing rooms. Above you can see the mailboxes for Opry members. You can send Opry members a letter by just putting their name on the envelope, and sending it to the Opry. They can pick up their mail there.
Each Opry member has a plaque and you can look at them all while walking back to the dressing rooms. The members get to attach the plaque themselves.
There are 18 dressing rooms at the Opry, and each is decorated differently and has a theme. I won’t share all the stories here, but there’s a room for first-time performers, for non-country performers, for songwriters, and for those about to be inducted into the Opry as a member. Each room is marked outside with a large guitar pick in the floor, and also with a sign on the door.
The green room is where the Opry performers wait and you can see a marker on the left wall where the water rose to during a historic flood in 2010.
They have the list of performers on a wall near the green room.
The Opry has a house band, and you can see where they sit on the stage, above. You’ll get to see the curtains and cables behind the stage as well, and enter the “performers only” area to stand on the stage itself.
You can get your picture taken on the six-foot oak Circle, taken from the Ryman Auditorium (the former home of the Opry). It is known for its symbolism of the unbroken connection to the Opry’s history and traditions. During the flood, the circle was saved in good condition. And you’ll hear about the circle (ad nauseum) during that initial movie and again in the Hee Haw movie (which has some duplication from the initial movie).
You can buy the pictures as part of a package, with a few prints and a digital download for around $29 in the gift shop. This is a picture of the picture, but my friend bought it.
After exiting the stage, you’ll see where the band equipment is stored off stage, and then make your way around through the auditorium to the gift shop. The guide will give you a coupon for $10 off an upcoming show in the next week, which you have to cash in at the ticket office itself.
The gift shop had some fun stuff to buy, including this guitar fly swatter above, and the guitar bottle openers below.
In addition to the Grand Ole Opry Backstage Tour, the Opry offers several other tour combinations, so check those out before you go.
While at the Opry, check out Gaylord Opryland, a 10 minute walk. It is a convention center and hotel, with an indoor garden that is unbelievable. You can leave your car in the same lot and just walk – look for signs that will point the way. It is a bit confusing until you see the signs, as the Gaylord Opryland hotel and convention center looks like it has an impenetrable wall around it.
If you’re hungry, there are restaurants at Opryland, and some at Opry Mills Mall as well. There’s a Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen on the property too. There are restaurants on McGavock Parkway as well, though you’ll need to drive.
Check out all the other things to do in Nashville (without kids).