Be sure to check in on the Grand Ole Opry broadcast this weekend, as they have taken on a bluegrass theme in recognition of IBMA week here in Nashville. The Friday and Saturday night radio shows will feature bluegrass artists, and the live TV coverage on GAC Saturday evening is all bluegrass as well.

Friday night’s show will include The Isaacs (9:30-10:00 p.m. slot), Ricky Skaggs (10:00-10:30 p.m. slot) and Jesse McReynolds (10:30-11:00 p.m. slot).

On Saturday, the Opry show has a special one hour, all-bluegrass segment that will feature Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Cherryholmes and The Grascals. It will run between 8:00-9:00 p.m. (EDT) and also be carried live on GAC’s Grand Ole Opry Live program on TV.

The GAC web site has been showing this week’s episode as an encore presentation, but we checked with the folks there who assured us that Saturday’s bluegrass show would be live from The Opry House. In addition to the live feed at 8:00 on 9/30, the show will be rebroadcast on Sunday (10/1) at midnight (late Saturday night), again on Sunday at noon and 7:00 p.m., and once again on Tuesday (10/3) at 9:00 p.m. All times are EDT.

Tune in to WSM 650 AM in Nashville, or catch the live WSM audio stream online to hear the program, which runs from 7:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 30.

Rhonda will appear again in the 11:00-11:30 p.m. segment, Ricky again in the 11:30 p.m.-12:00 a.m. segment, and Cherryholmes once more in the midnight to 12:30 a.m. slot. Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top Express are also scheduled to come on, in the final 12:30-1:00 a.m. spot.