Last month we gave notice of the series of Bluegrass Nights concerts at The Ryman Auditorium during the summer months.

Ahead of his appearance with IIIrd Tyme Out this coming Thursday (July 10) Russell Moore reflects on what the venue means to him …..

“When I think about the history of bluegrass music, specifically its earliest years, one of the first things I think about is when Bill Monroe performed for the first time at the Ryman Auditorium on the Grand Ole Opry. For many, many years after that, I believe Mr. Monroe and his ‘Blue Grass Boys’ appearances, as well as other bluegrass bands appearances on the Opry, such as Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, were a major inspiration for the rising number of people who listened to or attended the Opry shows and for the Opry’s popularity, as well as Bluegrass music’s popularity. To have knowledge of these things and to ultimately have the opportunity to perform on the same stage and in the same building where these events occurred is about enough to make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I never think about the RymanOpry’s early years and the ’stars’ who were a part of it is a treat for anyone who is a Country or Bluegrass music fan! The Ryman Auditorium is a grand building with a grand history and I’m always honored when able to perform there.”

Appearing with IIIrd Tyme Out on 7/10 are Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and Dailey & Vincent.

The 2008 series of Bluegrass Nights At The Ryman begins this Thursday, June 26. The annual summer series of shows staged at the so-called mother church of country music, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, will include appearances by Vince Gill, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Ralph Stanley and Rhonda Vincent.

Scruggs will open the series on June 26 with the Infamous Stringdusters. While other concerts include Gill and the Steeldrivers (July 3), Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, IIIrd Tyme Out and Dailey & Vincent (July 10), Cherryholmes and Bradley Walker (July 17), Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder with his special guests the Whites (July 24) and Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys and the Grascals on July 31.

Tickets are available for all concerts, full details online.

If you’re planning a summer vacation trip to Nashville, you’ll want to consider a trip to the Ryman Auditorium. And what better day than a Thursday when you catch a bluegrass show?

Tonight, June 21, 2007, kicks off the season’s Bluegrass Nights At The Ryman series. Tonight’s show features American music legend, Earl Scruggs. Also performing tonight is the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Each Thursday night from now till then end of July will feature a bluegrass show with at least two acts.

All shows begin at 7:30 PM CST and tickets cost $22.50 each. Tickets are available online through Ticketmaster for each show individually, and series tickets are available through the Ryman box office for $125. Series tickets get you in to all 6 shows in the series for an average ticket price of just under $21.

Visit the Ryman website for information on the series, including a show schedule and list of performers.

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: Earlier this week, Nashville’s hometown newspaper, The Tennessean, had a nice feature on Earl Scruggs’ return to The Ryman. The article includes a number of his remembrances from his many years of performing at the Opry. You can read the article online, where The Tennessean has also posted several classic photos of Earl.

While we were IBMA last week, Brance and I focused our attention on the activities at the Nashville Convention Center. Of course, many things ocurred elsewhere - in Nashville and beyond - and we’ll catch up on them over the next few days as we recover from our week at IBMA.

One terrific bit of news came last Tuesday (9/26) when The Academy of Country Music honored Bill Monroe with a posthumous Pioneer Award. It was bestowed during the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration, held at The Grand Ole Opry House during IBMA week in Nashville. James Monroe accepted the award on his father’s behalf.

Rod Essig, ACM President, shared these words in the ceremony.

“It is my honor to present this award to Bill Monroe on behalf of the Academy of Country Music. I find it fitting that we are here at the Opry, where a 28 year old Monroe was introduced by Opry founder, George D. Hay, and received not one, not two but three encores when he took the stage that evening. His pioneering sound has become legendary, and his contribution to bluegrass remains immeasurable. It is my pleasure to present Bill Monroe the Academy of Country Music’s Pioneer Award for his outstanding contribution to bluegrass.”

Opry VP and General manager Pete Fisher added:

“We are pleased to join the Academy of Country Music in honoring the pioneering work of Bill Monroe by hosting this presentation of the Pioneer Award on the Opry stage as part of our annual Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration. Although he left us just over 10 years ago, his name and his music can be heard almost every weekend at the Opry.”

In a related bit of news, an historical marker was unveiled at The Ryman Auditorium on Friday (9/29), designating it as the birthplace of bluegrass music. The text of the marker reads:

In December 1945, Grand Ole Opry star Bill Monroe and his mandolin brought to the Ryman Auditorium stage a band that created a new American musical form. With the banjo style of Earl Scruggs and the guitar of Lester Flatt, the new musical genre became known as “Bluegrass.” Augmented by the fiddle of Chubby Wise and the bass of Howard Watts (also known as Cedric Rainwater), this ensemble became known as “The Original Bluegrass Band,” which became the prototype for groups that followed.

There is a more detailed story that ran in The Tennessean over the weekend.

The Martha White Bluegrass Nights at The Ryman concerts for 2006 have been announced. This popular Thursday night summertime series has run for the past several years, held in the historic birthplace of country music, the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, TN, where the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcasts originated for many years. The old benches may be rough on the sitter, but the sense of history and nostalgia is palpable anywhere you find yourself in the theater.

Shows this year will include:

All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. (CDT) and tickets can be purchased for each concert, or for the entire series. If you anticipate traveling to Nashville this summer, you can get ticketing details by email, or by calling the Ryman Box Office at (615) 889-3060.