Saturday, July 10, 2021

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 34 - July 10, 2021

Our first stop today was the Texas State Museum in downtown Nashville. It is a very impressive and complete history of the state in a beautiful building.  We got a little bit of a late start so we didn’t linger but had a good overview of a very interesting and eventful history from the earliest time to the present day.

Texas State Museum Pictures

Our next stop was the Ryman Auditorium in city center.  It was an easy 10-minute ride on paper from the museum to the Ryman.  Not so today.  Center city was packed with lots of traffic and people.  By the time we parked the truck and walked to the Ryman, we did not have time to fully tour the Ryman before we had to leave for our scheduled 1:00 pm tour of the new Grand Ole Opry House near our RV park.  We just made it back in time (a few minutes late) for our backstage tour.

Ryman Auditorium Pictures

The Grand Ole Opry goes back a long way.  It started in 1925 and began broadcasting on WSM 650 .  It moved to the Ryman as a permanent location in 1943.   It truly was the place where Bluegrass and Country Music had its growth and expansion and became a signature American music genre.  Here is more information regarding the history of the Grand Old Opry.  Very interesting: 


We got to see a lot of behind the scenes of what makes it all work. To perform at the Opry House you have to be a member or be invited by a member.  Members also have to agree to perform a certain number of concerts there each year. Membership is by invitation and only the most popular and professionally recognized are ever invited.  It is quite an honor to be a member and significant recognition of professional excellence. 

Performers  arrive for concerts through a special entrance, everyone must show their ID, no exceptions, even if visually recognized.  Every member has a mail box and a locker.  We got to see about 20 dressing room lounges where the performers change and get ready for their performances.  It was a great tour and definitely worth our time.

Grand Ole Opry House Pictures


After the tour it was back to the RV with a stop for a lunch/dinner at a nearby restaurant.
  We are back on the road tomorrow.  St. Charles, MO near St. Louis is our next stop.  Straight west from there.

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