NASHVILLE GIRLS NIGHT AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY RESTAURANT

This post was sponsored by Gran Ole Opry.

Last month I had a rare night out (believe me those are few and far between lately). My husband has been extremely busy with the growth of Beachy so I’ve been manning the home front a lot more here recently. So the nights out I get with my girls are very much appreciated. Now I get asked a lot by y’all for things to do in my awesome city of Nashville and I’m about to let you in on my girl’s night…

Can you believe I’ve lived in Nashville for nearly 8 years and I’ve NEVER been to the Grand Ole Opry restaurant and concert venue? Yeah me either, so I had to fix that. Originally I was supposed to go on a date night with the hubs but he last-minute had to fly out-of-town so my sweet friend Peggy and I had a girl’s night. (It was way more fun with her anyway) So we made plans to go to dinner to one of my absolute FAVORITE spots in Nashville, Jeff Ruby. If you’re looking for an elegant place for dinner with stellar food, this is it. They have the best steaks, the best sushi and the best donuts I’ve ever had. Oh and the best dirty martini ha. You can come dressed up but you can also go casual (like above) if you want. The servers are the best… extremely helpful and they even talk you to the bathroom. It’s a MUST in Nashville for a special night out.

So after our amazing dinner at the Grand Ole Opry restaurant we headed to our show. I was so excited walking up because I grew up on country music. My mom listened to all the greats and I still remember all the words to every song. The Grand Ole Opry restaurant and concert venue seats an impressive 4400 people and is designed absolutely beautifully. We got our tickets and our giant doubles of wine and had our seats. The night of our show Brad Paisley was the headliner and featured Tyler Farr, Lauren Alaina, Chase Bryant, Bobby Bare and The Sisterhood. I’ve always loved Brad Paisley but I honestly had no idea how amazing he is at the guitar. Impressive for real and he seems like such a down to earth guy. Around intermission our guide came to take us on a tour. She was amazing and so funny. Kinda wanted to be friends with her… A few fun facts she impressed us with:

• When the Grand Ole Opry moved from the Ryman to the Grand Ole Opry House a circle of oak was cut from the stage at Ryman and inserted to the new stage at the Grand Ole Opry House, that way all the generations of country singers can perform on the same stage as the legends.
• The Grand Ole Opry first opened 90 years ago. 90 years…wow. In case you didn’t know, it is a live radio show that has different performers of different country singers on each show. The shows are in front of a live audience and the Opry broadcasts can be heard on Willie’s Roadhouse on Siruius Channel 56 on Friday and Saturday nights and always online at www.opry.com. Also on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings on WSM-AM.
• The artists park their own cars and enter and exit out of the same artist’s entrance out back. Minnie Pearl has a fountain dedicated to her in the walk entrance.
• There is a Grand Ole Opry post office and the artists actually receive mail there. When they check in they can pick up their mail (see above photo)
• There are 18 dressing rooms all with different themes. Each room number had an oversized guitar pick in the floor in front of the door.
• Roy Acuff, “The King of Country” is actually the last room you get to view but it is room #1. I loved the fact that he had an open door policy so the artists could hang out with him. So if you’re the headliner, you use his room and you are not allowed to shut the door in order to honor him.
• Other themes (mostly pictured above) are  “Into the Circle” (for artists who are making their first Opry appearance), “Welcome to the Family” (For artists being inducted into the Opry family), “Glitz and Glamour,” “Stars and Stripes” (to honor our service men and women), “Cousin Minnie” is a homage to the late Minne Pearl, etc.
• The green room is an area where everyone socializes and it feels very casual and laid back, lavished with photos. There is no alcohol backstage also.
• The walls are adorned with photos of Grand Ole Opry memories and if you’re a country fan at all, you can’t help but get all the feels and nostalgia.
• The flood of 2010 caused millions of damage to the Grand Ole Opry, ruining the stage, the pews and floors by 10 feet of flood water. They kept a painting (pictured above) in the Opry to show the flood level line.