The Grand Ole Opry is one of country music’s most famous venues, whose stage has been graced by everyone from Garth Brooks to Johnny Cash. While it is no longer in its original location, the new spot across the river is incredibly impressive and worth the visit. The best way to see it (if you aren’t going to a show) is to go on the backstage tour they have every 30 minutes during the day. I got a chance to check it out recently and here is all the information.
Details
- $25 a person (discount for AAA members and military)
- Tours every 30 minutes
- Location: 2804 Opryland Dr, Nashville, TN 37214
Getting There
The Grand Ole Opry is located in the heart of Opryland, which is the area with the huge hotel and mall across the water from Nashville. There is parking outside in the mall lots, and be sure to check out the massive guitars on the way in.
The Tour
We got the venue about 10 minutes before the 4 PM tour was heading out. After grabbing tickets and passing through security, we were ushered back to begin our tour.
The tour begins with a history of the venue and its influence, which is shared by Blake Shelton via video. Read more about the history here.
From there the tour guide will walk you through the lobby and outside to begin the tour.
Our tour started with information on how / where the artists enter the venue from. It is fun to learn about all of this and it is interesting to see how low-key it is.
Next, we heading into the large backlot area they have for filming shows and which is completely soundproof.
From there we went into the security area where they have plaques for all the members of the Opry. I found membership to be rather odd; you can read more about that here.
This is also where they have mailboxes that artists can receive fan mail from.
The next stop was at the dressing rooms backstage. They were all open when we went and it was awesome to see how gaudy they all were. Here are a few photos:
The green room is also back here, and it features art, beverages, and couches for the artists to relax at while waiting to go on stage. It also has a line on the wall that shows how high the flood got that came through a few years ago.
From the green room, we got to go out on the stage.
This was the best part of the tour as it is fun to be on an iconic stage like this.
The stage has a 6-foot wooden circle that was cut out of the original Opry and which artists can stand on when they perform today.
I thought that was a fun addition to a historic place like this and they even let us stand on it for a photo.
To end the tour we wrapped around the backstage and went out into the crowd. This is your last view of the venue, and it is fun to see it empty from here as well.
I liked the tour as it never felt too rushed and you got to get a good understanding of what it was like to play here. As someone who knew nothing about it before I came, I really enjoyed myself, and I recommend you check it out as well. Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments.
