Nashville Trip

By Callie Hayman '22

April 2019

On April 4, the Band departed for Nashville, Tennessee. We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. While on the trip, we visited the Parthenon, Ryman Auditorium, the Hermitage, the General Jackson Showboat, the Historic RCA Studio, Wildhorse Saloon, the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and performed in front of the Opry.

On arrival, the first thing we saw was the Parthenon. It is an exact replica of the one in Athens, Greece. The Ryman Auditorium was the next place we visited. It is the original building where many famous musicians got their start. When they rebuilt the Opry, they cut a circle out of the floor and inserted it into the new stage.

On day 2, we visited the Hermitage. It was the home of President Andrew Jackson. On the Showboat, we watched a performance and ate lunch. We then went on deck to watch Matt McAtee perform. Later that day, we toured and recorded at the Historic RCA studio. Some of us even got to play Elvis’s piano! For dinner, we ate at Wildhorse Saloon. There, we line danced and watched Maggie Baugh. She performed at the 7:30 slot, which means she is making her way to being big!

On day 3, we started with a backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry. We got to see the dressing rooms and stage; we learned some history behind the building. One cool fact - the Opry was once flooded with 4 ft of water. The chairs on the main floor are lighter than the ones on the balcony. We also toured the Country Music Hall of Fame. That night, we performed in front of the Grand Ole Opry. We quickly changed and headed inside for the show.

The musicians and performers included Riders In the Sky, Jesse McReynolds, Connie Smith, John Conlee, Karen Mills, Reckless Kelly, Bill Anderson, Molly Tuttle, Opry Square Dancers, Lorrie Morgan, Exile, and Charles Esten. Cool facts: 1) Charles Esten was the father on Jessie, played Josh Porter on The Office, and was part of the cast in Whose Line Is It Anyway? 2) Lorrie Morgan made her first opry debut when she was just 13 years old! 3) Paul Eckhart bought a ticket for the opry show and attended each show for 2,184 weeks straight from 1972 until 2014! 4) The Opry is also the longest running Radio Show. Even during the flooding, the show went on at different venues.

I know the band definitely enjoyed the trip and would go back again!