A willowy West London blonde in a white tiered maxi-dress and box-fresh cowboy boots was pleading with the Royal Albert Hall box office for a return. Despite looking more Ibiza-ready than Appalachian, with vowels that could cut glass (a whiskey tumbler, obviously), she would pay anything, she wailed, to join the sell-out crowd at the Grand Ole Opry.
As I settled into my own seat a few moments later, I felt both surprised that, actually, she wouldn’t have looked out of place – more of the eclectic audience later – and sorry she was missing out on a genuine “I-was-there” moment of musical history. To the uninitiated, the Grand Ole Opry is somewhere between an institution and a religion. Founded in 1925, this legendary stage concert and radio show, broadcast weekly to hundreds of thousands of country music lovers across America, showcases the best of country, bluegrass, folk and gospel.
The Grand Ole Opry is somewhere between an institution and a religion – PA
And to mark its centenary the event rolled into London – the first time the Opry has ever been broadcast from an international venue – with a great deal of ceremony in de facto acknowledgement that country is the fastest growing musical genre in Britain.
According to analysis by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the UK’s record label trade body, country more than doubled its share of the singles market between 2022 and 2024. This is in no small part thanks to the number of rap and pop artists that have all pivoted simultaneously towards country’s traditional storytelling, its unashamed emotion and simple earworm melodies, consequently helping to introduce the genre to a new audience.
American country artists have taken over UK festivals as well as the charts: back in June, Oklahoma native Zach Bryan sold out two nights – 65,000 capacity at each – at British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park.
No wonder then, that there was such a palpable air of excitement in the historic 5,700-seat Royal Albert Hall that folks spontaneously started singing along with the background music (including John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads) before the show had even begun.
And it did not disappoint. Slick and glittery, there were strobes, crazy sequential strip lights and mirror-ball effects. But best of all the love-in was gratifyingly reciprocated by the starry line-up that included current superstar Luke Combs, old hands Marty Stuart and Darius Rucker, and British folk rockers Mumford & Sons.
“This feels like a hug,” emoted the Grammy-winning singer Ashley McBryde, best known for her powerful vocals and unvarnished small-town honesty on tracks such as A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega. “Being here causes words you shouldn’t say into a microphone…” she continued, eyes glistening with tears, before settling on the reassuringly down-home “holy cow!”
Grammy-winning singer Ashley McBryde performs at the Grand Ole Opry – PA
I should probably come clean here and admit that a year ago wild mustangs couldn’t have dragged me through these doors. But I’m now a country convert thanks to crossovers from mainstream artists as varied as Post Malone, Lana del Rey and Sabrina Carpenter.
All the pop stars are at it: Beyoncé won the Grammy award for Album of the Year for the first time for Cowboy Carter, Taylor Swift’s Eras juggernaut gave more than a nod to her country roots and, closer to home, ex-One Directioner Zayn Malik has taken his music down the Western route (despite hailing from Bradford). It’s surely a surprise to absolutely no one, moreover, that global behemoth Ed Sheeran has also been dipping a musical toe into the territory. He’s been spotted playing in the bars of – where else? – Nashville, and was quoted as saying earlier this year that a country album was his “end goal”.
Beyoncé took her Grammy-award winning album, Cowboy Carter, on tour earlier this year – Reuters
In short, country is now so cool it’s officially hot. Hot as the Mojave. Hot as a tamale. It’s why there were so many Gen Zs, glamazons and hipsters at this gig, scattered among the Stetson-wearing aficionados and the hardcore trucker hat brigade. From the rhinestones to the leopard skin and leathers, this wasn’t tongue-in-cheek posturing either; country is an irony-free zone.
Once famously described as “three chords and the truth”, an epithet that still holds true today, country is all about tales of love and loss, booze, faith and faithlessness. It’s underpinned by the often bleak reality of rural life: trucks and trains, red dirt roads, lives uprooted under endless skies and the siren call of home.
But what I love most about contemporary country is that it has evolved into anything you want it to be; a cocktail of pop, rock, Americana, bluegrass, soul and rap. The list goes on. It’s vulnerable yet rebellious, fearless and yet sometimes mawkishly sentimental in its sincerity. Every emotion is addressed.
The London edition of the Opry had fans dancing in the aisles, swaying, hollering and belting out word-perfect lyrics. This was part showcase of the present, part reverent tribute to the past; there was a rendition of Johnny Cash’s (famously banned from the Opry in 1965 for smashing the stage lights while drunk) Folsom Prison Blues, a cover of Willie Nelson’s You Were Always on My Mind – and, from Marty Stuart, a delicate take on Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones, whom he described as “one of the best country bands that’s ever been”.
But the (super)star of the show was Luke Combs, who received a standing ovation before he had even sung a note of his anthemic Beer Never Broke My Heart or Refrigerator Door. And having risen to their feet, the audience stayed there, dancing and singing along – until he crooned Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit Fast Car, to respectful silence.
Superstar Luke Combs was met with a standing ovation in London – PA
As is customary the entire cast came together for a rip-roaring finale, followed by a communal sing-along kicked off with another rendition of Country Roads. And of course, I joined in with as much gusto as the next cowgirl.
In truth, my tastes are more contemporary: global megastars Morgan Wallen or Post Malone; rising star Shaboozey, who blends country with hip hop; and Texan singer Kacey Musgraves with her fusion of pop, folk and disco influences. But country is all about legacy – and to appreciate where it’s going, you need to understand where it came from.
Again and again there was talk on stage about the Grand Ole Opry family; gaining membership is a coveted honour, granted by invitation to artists as a lifelong recognition of their contribution to the genre. Think artists of the ilk of Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and Keith Urban, each forging their own path but united by tradition.
Back in Nashville, the intimate Ryman Auditorium, known as the “Mother Church of Country Music”, seats just 2,300 people. Here in Britain the crowd was twice as large – and if the begging at the box office was anything to go by, it could have gone bigger. But in terms of melding spectacle with intimacy, I reckon we should be proud that our full-throated Albert Hall shindig was every bit as Grand as the Ole Opry deserved.
Grand Ole Opry Live: 100 Years of Country Music is broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on October 2 at 7pm (and BBC Sounds), and BBC Two/iPlayer on Saturday 4 at 8.40pm
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