Grand Ole Opry To Debut Two New Opry House Tours

The Women of Country dressing room at the Grand Ole Opry is one of the rooms fans will view during an Opry tour. Photo: Chris Hollo

The Grand Ole Opry is set to offer two new Opry House Backstage Tours. The VIP Behind The Opry Curtain Tour and a Post-Show Tour offer backstage experiences during and following Opry shows, respectively. The new tours are added to the Opry’s backstage tour line-up which also includes a daytime tour that features video host, CMA Entertainer of the Year and Opry member Blake Shelton.

With the new VIP Behind The Opry Curtain Tour, a limited number of fans at each Opry performance can for the first time stand backstage as the big red curtain goes up on an Opry performance. The tour also offers guests a look at the inner-workings of the Opry in the moments leading up to show time before they are escorted to their seats in the Opry House to take in the night’s performance.

The new Opry House Post-Show Tour features 2012 Opry inductee Darius Rucker as video host. Immediately following Opry performances, Rucker shares with guests some of his favorite backstage moments and memories as they visit areas occupied just minutes before by artists on that night’s show. Among Rucker’s videos are “Opry home movies” sharing video footage of the Opry debuts of Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, and others; vintage performances by Geroge Jones, Dolly Parton, and more; as well as an array of Opry fashions and hairstyles through the years.

Opry member George Hamilton IV, known unofficially as the International Ambassador of Country Music, is a frequent participant in both tours, sharing stories of spending time backstage with everyone from Patsy Cline in the early 1960s to the Opry’s currents superstar members.