Night at the Grand Ole Opry With Kids

August 25, 2017

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When we decided to take a road trip to Tennesee, we knew that we could not visit Nashville without a trip to the Grand Ole Opry! Our whole family loves country music, especially classic country. It brings us back to our own childhoods when our parents would listen to it and we want our kids to have that same nostalgic feeling when they listen as adults. What better place to make these memories then at the place that honors both past and present legends.

We bought our tickets a few months ahead of our trip at the Opry website. Tickets range in price from $38 to $95 for seats in the front few rows. Each night there is a list of around 7-12 performers and I was anxious to see who would be there for our visit. I would check every other day but this list is not finalized until the week of the performance , and even then it can change. Initially I was not familiar with any of the performers, but realized once I was there, that I did know some of them! Sons of Palomino sang and the lead Jeffery Steele was from Boy Howdy, a popular group from my childhood in the 90’s.

Another was a guy I had forgotten about and actually loved his songs back in high school -Keith Anderson, and now my 12 year old son is a fan. I was so grateful to have been able to experience their music again and relive those memories.

Ashley Campbell was releasing a new song and we got to hear her for the first time. She has such a sweet voice! My daughter has been asking her to keep checking to see if her new album is out yet.

Mike Snider from Hee Haw added comedy to the show there was an amazing harmonica player .

It was an unforgettable experience and the kids were well entertained. The entire show lasts a little over 2 hours with a 15 minutes intermission in the middle.

To prepare ourselves and build excitement for the kids, we listened to some live shows online a few days before. They can be heard on 650 AM at the link on the Opry website.

It was a great experience for the whole family, even the kids, which I highly recommend. Whether or not you are not country music fans it is amazing to be a part of something so historic, having began as a radio show in 1925. After the show we took a backstage tour. This was another highlight and our trip report will be coming soon.

Tips

The Opry House is located next to a shopping mall. Arrive early because the parking lot is large and you may have to park far away. Don’t confuse The Grand Ole Opry House for Opryland-like we did. You will want to park near the mall. We did see others walking from parking lots near Opryland on a path but it was much further away. The parking is free but you do have to share with everyone at the mall. It was an especially busy weekend we were there because all weekend there was NO state tax for shopping and the mall was packed!
Seats are pews, and there is not a bad seat in the place. When you buy your tickets you buy an assigned seat. Bring earplugs for kids if you think they may need them or are near the front. We did not see any for sale there.
There are concessions that you can bring to your seats. It was late and our kids were happy they could have a snack (which for us ended up being there dinner) They had popcorn, pizza and sodas while watching the show. They do take credit and cash. The prices were a little high but worth it for us because we had trouble finding parking that night and did not have time to eat dinner.
Do the backstage tour. It was worth it! To see my review of the Backstage Tour read HERE