{"id":3523,"date":"2026-08-27T16:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/?p=3523"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:33:20","slug":"50-living-grand-ole-opry-members-close-out-opry-100-with-i-will-always-love-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/?p=3523","title":{"rendered":"50+ Living Grand Ole Opry Members Close Out \u201cOpry 100\u201d With \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Grand Ole Opry celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, and the milestone received a spectacular three-hour television special, Opry 100<\/em>. Hosted by Blake Shelton, the March 19, 2025, event brought together some of the biggest names in country music for an unforgettable night honoring the Opry\u2019s incredible history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opry 100<\/em> Celebrated a Century of the Grand Ole Opry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reba McEntire opened the Opry 100<\/em> celebration with a heartfelt tribute to Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn before performing \u201cThe Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia\u201d with Trisha Yearwood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carrie Underwood paid tribute to Randy Travis with a medley of his greatest songs, finishing with \u201cForever and Ever, Amen.\u201d In one of the evening\u2019s most emotional moments, Underwood walked down the stage steps and allowed Travis to deliver the final \u201cAmen,\u201d leaving the audience visibly moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lainey Wilson performed one of Hank Williams\u2019 songs alongside Marty Stuart while playing Williams\u2019 famous guitar. Kelsea Ballerini also honored Barbara Mandrell by performing \u201cI Was Country (When Country Wasn\u2019t Cool)\u201d in front of the country legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alan Jackson had the crowd on its feet with \u201cChattahoochee,\u201d while Post Malone and Travis Tritt brought plenty of energy with their rock-infused performance of \u201cT-R-O-U-B-L-E.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those were just a few of the memorable performances and collaborations featured throughout the historic celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lineup for Opry 100 Live Celebration (Grand Ole Opry \/ Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Legendary Artists Joined Forces for the Finale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the red carpet, WSM host Kelly Sutton teased the evening\u2019s closing performance, revealing that more than 50 living Grand Ole Opry members were in attendance and would come together for a special finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was right\u2014the closing number became one of the most emotional moments of the entire celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The artists who took part in the finale included:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randy Travis
Blake Shelton
Reba McEntire
Jamey Johnson
Carly Pearce
Ronnie Milsap
Trace Adkins
Clint Black
Trisha Yearwood
Ricky Skaggs
Vince Gill
The Isaacs
Ashley McBryde
Travis Tritt
Carrie Underwood
Lady A
Alison Krauss
Mandy Barnett
Steven Curtis Chapman
Connie Smith
Rhonda Vincent
Dailey & Vincent
The Oak Ridge Boys
Dierks Bentley
T. Graham Brown
Terri Clark
Sharon White \/ The Whites
Gary Mule Deer
Mark Wills
Crystal Gayle
Dustin Lynch
Del McCoury
Bill Anderson
Larry Gatlin
Henry Cho
Eddie Montgomery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Moving Tribute to Dolly Parton<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the finale began, Reba McEntire, Lady A, and Carrie Underwood stood at center stage in front of the Opry members gathered on the risers, signaling that they would lead the emotional performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the music started, McEntire took a moment to address Dolly Parton, who had recently lost her husband. She expressed the group\u2019s sympathy, saying they were sorry for her loss, were praying for her, and would always love her<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilary Scott of Lady A then began singing Parton\u2019s iconic classic, \u201cI Will Always Love You.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reba and Carrie followed with their own solo moments, while the massive gathering of Opry members joined together to provide harmonies throughout the chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With so many legendary country artists singing one of Dolly Parton\u2019s most beloved songs, the performance served as a powerful tribute to her legacy and to the enduring bond between Parton and the Grand Ole Opry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Grand Ole Opry celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, and the milestone received a spectacular three-hour television special, Opry 100. Hosted by Blake Shelton, […]<\/a> CONTINUE READING >>><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3526,"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3523\/revisions\/3526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paxtonhegmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}