Grand Ole Opry: OPRY 100 with Lauren Alaina, Emily Ann Roberts, Henry Cho, and more

The Read

Henry Cho is one of the few standups the Opry treats as a full member rather than a novelty, and his timing works because he never condescends to the room. Jordan Davis brings the current radio end of things. Emily Ann Roberts brings the older, tighter kind of country singing that the format keeps rediscovering. The contrast is the programming. Opry nights move fast — short sets, quick turnover, the broadcast clock running underneath everything. Nobody gets long enough to overstay. If one act does not land, another is on in eight minutes. That churn is the whole design, and a hundred years in it still works better than most curated bills.

The Room

Grand Ole Opry House

2804 Opryland Dr

The Opry left the Ryman on March 15, 1974. President Nixon played piano on opening night. Roy Acuff supervised the installation of the circle of wood cut from the Ryman stage.