Brothers Osborne, Wendy Moten and Ricky Skaggs
on the Opry at Bonnaroo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Grand Ole Opry celebrated the tradition and music of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on tonight’s show, the 4,942nd consecutive Saturday night broadcast. The Opry, originally scheduled to be part of this year’s Bonnaroo, which was unfortunately forced to cancel, continued with a special Opry at Bonnaroo livestream featuring performances by Brothers Osborne, Wendy Moten and Opry member Ricky Skaggs, all of who have performed at Bonnaroo.
Country Music Hall of Famer Skaggs stepped in the circle to open the show with some of his classic hits including “I’m Tired,” “I Wouldn’t Change You If I Could” as well as his bluegrass hit which was a No. 1 hit on the country charts “Uncle Pen.” The bluegrass/country legend performed his song “Can’t Shake Jesus” from his Grammy®-nominated album Mosaic.
Moten took the stage performing the classic “Driving Nails In My Coffin” which is included on her album I’ve Got You Covered, produced by Vince Gill. Moten, who performed at Opry at Bonnaroo in 2019, reminisced about her first performance at the legendary festival saying “What I loved the most was the sea of people enjoying the music.” She added, “My most memorable moment of Bonnaroo was during the encore when all of the artists come out and there was only a certain amount of [Opry] mic stands and I had the great opportunity to share a mic with Ricky Skaggs! We were singing together ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken’ I’m thankful for that memory. I’m thankful to be part of the Opry family and to be invited back here.”
The soulful Moten performed “Can’t We All Get Along,” written by Pat Boone who also enlisted her to perform, poignantly saying before the performance, “This is our ‘anthem of brotherhood.’ This message is something that we all agree on. About loving each better. About supporting each other better. About equality for all people and just doing better and being better to each other as human beings. This is a message that we can agree on and we hope that you love the message and the song.”
“It feels good to be here,” Brothers Osborne shouted after performing “Skeletons,” the title from their upcoming new album scheduled for release on October 9. “We have done some livestreams from our house but the energy of this room, it doesn’t need anyone in it to to get worked up. Maybe it’s the circle.” The award-winning duo also performed their current single “All Night” from Skeletons and their smash “It Ain’t My Fault.”
The special Opry at Bonnaroo aired on Circle TV , livestreamed on Circle All Access YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels, SiriusXM as well as the Opry’s flagship home 650 WSM AM and wsmonline.com.
Next Saturday, September 26, Opry members Connie Smith and Marty Stuart along with Sierra Hull will step onto the Grand Ole Opry stage at 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT for the 4,943rd consecutive Saturday night broadcast. Opry shows will be broadcast live on Circle and Gray TV stations, DISH Studio Channel 102, Sling TV, and other TV affiliates in addition to a companion live stream on Circle All Access Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The Opry can also be heard on 650 WSM-AM, wsmonline.com, and SiriusXM.
As the Grand Ole Opry approaches its 95th anniversary in the midst of a global pandemic, Opry members and special guest artists have kept the music playing from the unbroken circle and is reaching some of its largest audiences to date. The Opry has been reaching millions of fans and making new ones each week as it has logged viewers from over 100 countries worldwide who have been tuning in since shows with a live Opry House audience were paused in mid-March. Opry Live on Circle TV has consistently been in the top of the Pollstar Livestream Chart with an average of over 1 million viewers each week.
The Opry’s paused shows without an audience since March 14 have included Opry members Trace Adkins, Bill Anderson, Kelsea Ballerini, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Terri Clark, Luke Combs, Dailey & Vincent, the Gatlin Brothers, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Dustin Lynch, Chris Janson, Reba McEntire, Craig Morgan, the Oak Ridge Boys, Old Crow Medicine Show, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Jeannie Seely, Blake Shelton, Ricky Skaggs, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, Mark Wills, Trisha Yearwood and Chris Young along with special guests Lady A, Lauren Alaina, Jimmie Allen, Mandy Barnett, Brothers Osborne, Lee Brice, T. Graham Brown, Luke Bryan, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, Jason Crabb, Rodney Crowell, Sara Evans, Amy Grant and daughters Jenny Gill and Corrina Grant Gill, Riley Green, Tracy Lawrence, Ashley McBryde, Chrissy Metz, Keb’ Mo’, Wendy Moten, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Margo Price, Kellie Pickler, Michael Ray, Runaway June, Billy Strings, The Scott Family, Gwen Stefani, Tenille Townes, Molly Tuttle, Sam Williams, CeCe Winans, Charlie Worsham, and Brett Young.