Project Captures Performance Moments From an Empty Opry House
During The Early Days of the Global Pandemic
SiriusXM Hosts Special Programming Celebrating the LP Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Grand Ole Opry’s limited-edition vinyl LP titled, Unbroken | Empty Room, Full Circle is available today on Opry.com, at the Opry’s Nashville-based retail outlets, and other select Nashville stores. The limited-edition vinyl features live performances by Opry members spanning every musical style that makes the Opry so unique and known worldwide including Trace Adkins, Luke Combs, Dailey & Vincent, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Reba McEntire, Old Crow Medicine Show, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban as well as Rodney Crowell, Dom Flemons, Billy Strings, and Molly Tuttle.
SiriusXM, who teams up with the Opry to broadcast the weekly Saturday night shows and Tuesday Night Opry on Willie’s Roadhouse channel and was a home for these unforgettable 29-week pandemic live performances from the Opry stage as well as inviting Opry members to host Opry House Guest DJ specials throughout the year, will present a one-hour Unbroken special. Hosted by Opry legend and Willie’s Roadhouse DJ Jeannie Seely, the special will feature tracks from the album and will air across multiple SiriusXM country music channels including The Highway, Y2Kountry, Prime Country, Outlaw Country and Bluegrass Junction.
Click HERE to hear Opry team members talk about how they were able to keep the music playing with the help of artists, industry and staff members throughout the pandemic and how it set the stage for this limited-edition vinyl Unbroken | Empty Room, Full Circle commemorating this historical moment in the Opry’s 95 years.
The LP includes memorable performances recorded live from the Opry stage in front of an empty house. For 29 weeks, Saturday night Opry shows continued uninterrupted despite public health orders that temporarily shuttered many other live productions. These performances were made possible because of the devotion of Grand Ole Opry members, featured performers, Opry staff and local health officials who safely worked together to bring comfort to millions around the world. The Opry continued broadcasting through its weekly WSM and SiriusXM radio broadcasts and launched the Opry Live television broadcast, which was viewed by more than 50 million people from more than 100 countries during the 29-week period.
“None of us who were on hand when these performances were recorded last year will ever forget the sounds of some of our favorite country music voices echoing through an empty Opry House,” said Dan Rogers, Opry executive producer. “This record is a tangible reminder of what I believe will be looked upon as a pivotal period for the Opry, as a time when the music being performed mattered to those tuned in as much as any other time in our history.”
Opry members and special guest artists included on Unbroken | Empty Room, Full Circle represents some of the most influential artists in music, having together amassed a total of 81 Grammy® Awards and 238 nominations. The first 2,000 vinyl sold will include a special-edition album-sized Hatch Show Print commemorating the release.
Opry member Marty Stuart leads off the collection with “No Hard Time Blues” from the Opry’s March 21, 2020 show. That night, Stuart said of the Opry’s streak of keeping the music playing on Saturday nights for over nine-decades: “Country music is no stranger to hard times. The Grand Ole Opry is no stranger to hard times, either. It’s 94 years old [now 95] and has been through world wars, catastrophes, and presidential assassinations, but somehow the show has just gone right along and never gone off the air.”
Stuart’s fellow Opry members Vince Gill and Brad Paisley can also be heard on the opening track, with each also appearing on another track on the project. Gill reminded the world that night, “We are at our best during hard times,” while Paisley added, “Country music really excels in times like this. …We will persevere in the face of this.” For the 29 weeks without a live in-house audience more than 60 artists took to the Opry stage for historic and memorable performances including those included in the special Unbroken project.
The Opry welcomed a limited capacity audience for its Opry’s 95th Anniversary celebration on October 3, 2020 and has returned to full capacity audiences at its Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday night shows. The Opry, the world’s longest-running radio show, will mark a historic, record-breaking milestone with its 5,000th Saturday night broadcast on October 30, 2021.
Click HERE for a sizzle reel of highlights of just some of the Opry members and special guests who stepped in to the circle to help the keep the music playing at the Grand Ole Opry since the in-house audience shows were paused on March 14, 2020.
Unbroken| Empty Room, Full Circle Track Listing:
1. Marty Stuart No Hard Times
2. Reba McEntire Back To God
3. Keith Urban Coming Home
4. Luke Combs Six Feet Apart
5. Dailey & Vincent and Ricky Skaggs Uncle Pen
6. Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris Leavin’ Louisiana in the Broad Daylight
7. Trace Adkins Tough People Do
8. Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
9. Darius Rucker It Won’t Be Like This For Long
10. Old Crow Medicine Show, Dom Flemons,
Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle Mama Don’t Allow It / Will The Circle Be Unbroken