Backstage at the Ryman

It was the home of the Grand Ole Opry until the Opry was moved to Opryland hotel in 1974. During the months of December, January and February the Opry moves back to the Ryman where you can catch a show on Friday, Saturday or Tuesday's. It is used for various other non-Opry acts and concerts throughout the year. We were unable to attend a show this week, but we were able to take the backstage tour. 

Built originally as a church in 1892, it was converted to an entertainment venue in order to keep it afloat. It was used for Grand Ole Opry broadcasts from 1943 until 1974, when the Opry built a larger venue just outside Nashville at the Opryland USA theme park.  The Ryman then sat mostly vacant and fell into disrepair until 1992 when Emmylou Harris and her band, the Nash Ramblers, performed a series of concerts there (the results of which appeared on her album At the Ryman). The Harris concerts renewed interest in restoring the Ryman, and it was reopened as an intimate performance venue and museum in 1994. Audiences at the Ryman find themselves sitting in pews, the 1994 renovation notwithstanding. The seating is a reminder of the auditorium's origins as a house of worship, hence giving it the nickname "The Mother Church of Country Music".

This is a view from the stage showing the original wooden church pews. 

  

View from balcony. 

Radio station WSM still broadcasts live shows from the Ryman.