Ricky Skaggs opens the Opry 100th anniversary show – © Grand Ole Opry, photos by Rachael Black
On Friday, November 28, the Grand Ole Opry celebrated the 100th anniversary of their first live radio broadcast with two shows, featuring 25 different Opry members to commemorate the centennial.
Needless to say, none of the performers from that inaugural program were available, but Ricky Skaggs opened the show playing Tennessee Wagoner on the very same fiddle that Uncle Jimmy Thompson had played to kick off that first broadcast. He was joined by all the various Opry members on the show, including Bill Anderson, Mandy Barnett, T. Graham Brown, Steven Curtis Chapman, Henry Cho, John Conlee, Dailey & Vincent, The Gatlin Brothers, Vince Gill, The Isaacs, Jamey Johnson, Dustin Lynch, Kathy Mattea, Charlie McCoy, Scotty McCreery, Del McCoury, Gary Mule Deer, Lorrie Morgan, Riders In The Sky, Ricky Skaggs, Don Schlitz, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, The Whites, and Mark Wills. Suzy Boggus, who has been invited to join but has not yet been inducted, also appeared.
Marty Stuart, picking with the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, payed tribute to the show’s string band roots, along with the Opry Square Dancers. He returned to lead the assembled cast on Wabash Cannonball.
And Ricky Skaggs and The Whites performed the Carter Family classic, Keep On The Sunny Side.
Later, Vince Gill was tapped to sing the song voted by fans as the greatest ever sung on the Grand Ole Opry, George Jones’ He Stopped Loving Her Today.
The gospel music heritage of the Opry was heralded by The Isaacs, with John Conlee and Mark Willis, singing a medley of It Is Well With MY Soul, Amazing Grace, I’ll Fly Away, and I Saw The Light.
Del McCoury joined Ricky and The Whites for Uncle Pen.
We at Bluegrass Today are happy to extend a hearty congratulations and Happy Birthday to the Grand Ole Opry on such an august occasion!
Additional Opry 100 events and celebrations will continue on into 2026. You can see all the details online.
