Tour the Opry House
A Behind-The-Scenes Look
Grand Ole Opry member and CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Blake Shelton is the video host for an all-new tour of the Grand Ole Opry House, featuring an authentic look behind the scenes of the Opry. Click here for more information!
Book online up to two weeks in advance.
*Times and availability subject to change.
The Grand Ole Opry is the show that made country music famous, and the Grand Ole Opry House is the place where the magic has happened for more than 35 years. A tour of the Opry House provides a behind-the-scenes look at country's most famous show and a true entertainment business phenomenon, complete with great stories about the Opry and its members as well as enough photo opportunities to fill any Nashville scrapbook.
Tours are most often available seven days a week February through October, though schedules can vary depending upon other Opry House commitments. On evenings in which there is only one Opry performance, tours are also available immediately after the show. Tours can be booked up to two weeks in advance online or by calling 800-SEE-OPRY. Tickets for tours are also available at the Opry House Box Office.
Just a sampling of what you'll learn or see on an Opry House tour is below.
Opry Homes
The Grand Ole Opry House is not the Opry's first (or even second or third, fourth, or fifth) home. The Opry began in 1925 in the WSM radio studios in downtown Nashville.
It moved to the Hillsboro Theater, near Vanderbilt University in 1934. From there it moved to the Dixie Tabernacle in East Nashville in 1936, and then back downtown to the plush War Memorial Auditorium in 1939. The show moved to the Ryman Auditorium in 1943, and moved to the current home in 1974. In 2005, the Opry House passed the Ryman as the longest running home of the Grand Ole Opry. Since 1999, the Opry has returned to the Ryman during the winter for a series of performances there.
Home to More than Just the Opry
In addition to hosting more than 150 Opry performances each year, the Opry House has welcomed countless other events and shows over the years, among them:
- Weddings (Connie Smith sang for more than 50 couples who were married on stage in 2000.)
- Funerals (Porter Wagoner, Grandpa Jones, among others)
- Concerts, among them Willie Nelson, Smashing Pumpkins, Bonnie Raitt
- TV tapings, including "Wheel Of Fortune" and numerous award shows
- Even a live cattle auction
Backstage Trivia
- Alan Jackson once delivered mail to the "Opry Post Office," where he now has his own mailbox.
- Little Jimmy Dickens' mailbox is the only Opry member's box not in alphabetical order, such that his box is easily within reach for the 4'11" star. Speaking of the Post Office, among the past Opry members who've had their own U.S. postage stamps are Roy Acuff, Patsy Cline, and the Carter Family.
- The list of artists who've taped TV specials in Studio A, the working TV studio located within the Opry House, is vast and varied. Among them: Kenny Chesney, Elton John, Uncle Kracker, Loretta Lynn, James Taylor, and ZZ Top.
- When the Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium in 1974, the show took part of the Ryman with it. A round circle of wood from the Ryman sits center stage at the Opry House. Now, recent Opry additions such as Dierks Bentley and Montgomery Gentry can still perform on the same stage as legends such as Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, and countless others.