Ryman Auditorium – Nashville’s Mother Church of Country Music

If you visit Nashville and have even a passing interest in country music, your trip will be incomplete if you miss checking out country music’s Mother Church, The Ryman Auditorium.

The Ryman Auditorium was conceived in 1895 by a Nashville riverboat captain named Thomas Ryman, who had recently been converted to Christianity by a southern evangelist, and decided to build a church to serve Nashville’s revivals.  In 1892, the first part of the auditorium was opened, named the Union Gospel Tabernacle, which included the pews that remain there to this day.  Construction was completed in 1899, and the total cost – $100,000.

In 1943, the Grand Ole Opry moved to the Ryman Auditorium, where it remained full-time until 1974, when it moved to the Opry House, which was built adjacent to the Opryland Hotel for the purpose of being a dedicated auditorium for Grand Ole Opry performances.

The Grand Old Opry returned to the Ryman in 1999, for winter season performances, which continue to this day.

Of course, there’s much more than country music performed at the Ryman.  Virtually every type of music has been celebrated and performed here, and it’s been voted one of the best places to hear music in America.

Nash Trash Tours

You’ve never taken a “city tour” like the Nash Trash Tour. It lasts about 90 outrageous minutes or so aboard the gaudiest tour bus in Nashville.

This ride is more like a traveling comedy show and cocktail party than a city tour, and you don’t have to be a country music fan to have loads of fun on this laugh-riot.

Climb aboard the Big Pink Bus for a truly unique Nashville experience! This country musical / comedy tour is guaranteed to have you laughing ’til your face hurts as the Jugg Sisters, Sheri Lynn and Brenda Kay, show you Nashville like you never dreamed. Read more

Country Music Hall of Fame®

Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is located in downtown Nashville, just a few blocks from the honky-tonks of Broadway and the “mother church” of country music, the Ryman Auditorium.

This new $37 million location was opened in 2001, and the monumental appearance of this unique building livens up the skyline in Nashville’s downtown entertainment area.

The Museum has an incredibly vast collection to record country music’s history, and inside, Read more

The Grand Ole Opry

It started as a radio show in 1925, and has survived to be the oldest continuous radio broadcast in the USA. It is also heard on XM Radio, and is televised on Saturdays on the Great American Country network.

From it’s simple beginnings, the Grand Ole Opry has become an American icon, and is Nashville’s Number One attraction.

Always broadcasting to live audiences, in the early years, after building a larger studio to accomodate the growing audience, in 1934 the Opry moved outside its studio to the Read more