For starters, Laura Bell established herself first as a performer on Broadway. Shifting from the Great White Way to Music Row is a career path that’s only happened once or twice before.
Making the evening even more unique, the Tennessee floods have the Kentucky-born singer showing up on the Opry from a location she probably never heard of before moving to Nashville. Since 1974, the Opry’s been housed at the Grand Ole Opry House, but the Cumberland River covered that stage the first week of May, and it’s unclear when the venue will be able to reopen. The Ryman Auditorium was the Opry home for more than 30 years prior to the Opry House, and it still hosts a number of Opry performances over the course of the year.
But during the post-flood renovations, the Opry is skipping around among at least three alternate sites, and Laura Bell’s debut on Saturday takes place at long-forgotten War Memorial Auditorium. Interestingly, that venue comes with its own Opry history. Prior to the Ryman, War Memorial hosted the Opry from 1939-1943. In fact, Ernest Tubb, Minnie Pearl and bluegrass icon Bill Monroe all made their first Opry appearances on that stage.
War Memorial came back into rotation earlier this month when the Opry House was submerged. Chris Young, Marty Stuart, Jeannie Seely and Suzy Bogguss were among the acts who took the stage there on May 4 when the flood forced a quick change of plans. They all united at the close of the show for the Carter Family’s apropos “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”
When Laura Bell joins the circle of performers who have appeared on the Opry, she’ll pay a nod to the Opry’s traditional embrace of multiple entertainment forms, including comedy and dancing. Four of the Opry’s square dancers will be clogging along as she sings her current single, “Giddy On Up.”
Also on the bill at the Opry on Saturday: Charley Pride, John Conlee, Bill Anderson and Kathy Mattea.
Laura Bell has another major event on her calendar this month: She’s singing “Giddy On Up” during the IPL 500 Festival Parade May 29 in Indianapolis. Laura Bell might run into Jewel, who’s set to sing the national anthem at the Indy 500 the next day
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