Is the Grand Ole Opry worth it?

The short answer

Go if you want one evening that explains why Nashville is called Music City. The Opry is a live radio show that started on the station WSM in 1925 and has never stopped, and the stage format suits newcomers well: several acts come on in turn, each plays a short set, and the mood swings from a ballad to a fiddle tune to a comedy spot within minutes. Skip it if you will only be happy seeing one named star, because the line-up is built by the Opry and filled in close to the date. Treat the history as part of the ticket.

• Book it for a first night in Nashville or a mixed group
• Book two days ahead or more, because confirmation takes up to 48 hours
• Check the venue on your confirmation in winter

What the two hours are like

The show runs about two hours with an interval in the middle, and you sit on cushioned pews in a theatre east of downtown. Wikipedia describes the Opry as a mix of famous singers and current chart acts playing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk and gospel, with comedic performances and skits between them. It is still a radio broadcast, so the evening moves in segments rather than as one long set by a single headliner. The Opry's own description stresses that shows are never rehearsed and never the same twice, and that is what sets it apart from a touring concert: your night's running order exists only once.

If country music is not your thing

This is the question most visitors ask, and the format is the answer. Because no act stays on long, you are never stuck with a style you dislike, and the range is wider than many expect: acoustic bluegrass, gospel harmony, honky-tonk, rootsy Americana and big-voiced modern country can all turn up on the same night. The comedy is billed as family-friendly. Recent reviewers who called themselves non-fans described the show as much better than they expected. If you want to test the water first, the backstage tour or the Ryman's self-guided tour shows you the story without a full evening.

Confirmation takes up to 48 hours

Read this before you book for tomorrow. Your booking is confirmed by the Opry within 48 hours, not instantly, so a ticket booked late on the day before may not be confirmed in time. If your stay in Nashville is short, book at least two days ahead, then watch for the confirmation email and keep it on your phone. Booked through GetYourGuide, the ticket is fully refundable if you cancel at least 24 hours before the show; tickets bought from the Opry's own box office are non-refundable, which is one reason to book through a flexible channel if your plans might change.

Which section to choose

You choose a seating section when you book, and the seat inside it is assigned to you; on this ticket you cannot pick a numbered seat in advance. The Opry House has more than 4,000 seats on two levels, all cushioned pews, and the Opry describes it as a room with no bad seats. In practice the choice is about distance. Lower-level sections bring you close enough to see faces and fingers on the strings; the upper level sits further back and higher, and prices differ by section. Wheelchair-accessible seats exist on both levels. Groups should make one booking for everyone so they land in the same section.

Where the show takes place

Most nights, the Opry plays at the Opry House, 600 Opry Mills Drive, in the area of Nashville known as Music Valley, east of downtown and next to the Opry Mills mall. It is several miles from downtown, so plan a car or rideshare there and back; parking at the Opry House is paid and can be booked ahead for evening shows. The building opened in 1974 and replaced the Ryman as the Opry's home, though the old downtown hall still hosts the show on some winter dates.

Is the Premium Experience worth it?

The Premium Experience is the same show with a lounge attached. It gives you access to a lounge that opens before the show and stays open through the interval, a meeting with an Opry performer, appetisers, two top-shelf drinks and a commemorative photo. You still watch from a seat in the auditorium. It makes sense for a birthday, an anniversary or a first visit you want to mark, and for anyone who would buy drinks anyway. It makes less sense if the music is all you came for, because the performance on stage is exactly the same from a standard seat.

The winter move to the Ryman

The Opry has lived at the Opry House in Music Valley since 1974, but it has not forgotten its old home. From 1999 to 2020 it moved back downtown to the Ryman for three winter months each year, and since 2023 it has returned for shorter winter residencies, billed as Opry at the Ryman. The Ryman was the Opry's home from 1943 to 1974 and is known as the Mother Church of Country Music, with its original wooden pews refurbished and returned to the hall. If your date falls in winter, the venue printed on your confirmation is the one that counts, and the Ryman is downtown rather than in Music Valley.

What the ticket leaves out

The ticket is a reserved seat for one show and nothing more. Food and drinks are sold in the lobby and can be carried to your seat, at the prices you would expect in a theatre; outside food and drinks are not allowed. Bring a passport or ID card. Personal cameras are welcome, but video recording, selfie sticks, large bags and plastic bottles are not, and there is no coat check, which matters on a cold night. Large groups book directly with the venue rather than online. Parking at the Opry House is paid and sold separately.

Who this isn't for

Anyone who needs to know the full line-up weeks ahead will find the Opry frustrating, because performers are added to each date as they are confirmed. If you are in town for one night and only decide that afternoon, the 48-hour confirmation window makes this a risky last-minute plan. People who dislike sitting for two hours, even with an interval, should consider the one-hour backstage tour instead. And if you want a long set from one artist, a downtown concert or a night on Broadway's music bars will suit you better than a variety show built for radio.

How to book

Open the calendar on this page, choose a date and pick a section; the start time for that date appears before you pay. Add the Premium Experience if the lounge appeals. Then wait for the Opry's confirmation, which arrives within 48 hours, and check which venue it names. On the night, give yourself time for parking or a rideshare drop-off, buy a drink in the lobby and find your pew before the broadcast starts. If you are weighing the show against the daytime backstage tour, another guide here sets the two side by side.

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