The Grand Ole Opry returns to network television on Valentine's Day when country stars Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton co-host primetime special Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music.
Per a press release, the two hour broadcast will showcase "a mix of country legends and the contemporary chart-toppers who have followed in their footsteps" through "original performances, stunning archival footage and amazing behind-the-scenes stories."
The press release also promises that the Opry will "open its archives that span a period of over nine decades and include interviews, performances and appearances by country artists in all stages of their careers."
Stars to grace the Opry stage over the past 95 years include legends (Dolly Parton), stars of the '90s (Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks and Vince Gill) and today's most popular acts (Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Luke Combs).
Nowadays, the show that made WSM famous is known in part for not allowing the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic to end a string of over 4,900 consecutive Saturday night broadcasts. The Opry's weekly live show and livestream is hosted by country music personality Bobby Bones.
The broadcast will feature the likes of Garth Brooks, Little Big Town, Old Crow Medicine Show, Darius Rucker, Trisha Yearwood, Underwood, Parton and, in his Opry debut, Kane Brown.
Special performances slated for the broadcast include Kelsea Ballerini singing Keith Whitley's "When You Say Nothing at All," Dierks Bentley and Marty Stuart's duet of country classic "Pancho & Lefty" and Lady A's rendition of Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen."
The NBC special airs the week of Paisley's 20th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member. Paisley was 28 years old and less than two years removed from the release of debut album Who Needs Pictures when Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seely and Little Jimmy Dickens invited him to join an exclusive club.
It's Shelton's 10th year as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. During the Opry's Country Comes Home concert, a Sept. 28, 2010 event celebrating the Opry House's reopening following the May 2010 Nashville flood, Shelton's duet partner and friend Trace Adkins invited the Oklahoma-born superstar to join the family circle. Adkins poked fun at Shelton's frequent social media use by inviting him via a Tweet.
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