Garth Brooks Inducts Jon Pardi Into the Grand Ole Opry
Jon Pardi was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry last night (10/24) in Nashville. Before he performed on the show, he talked with us about what he remembered about his Grand Ole Opry debut several years ago.
Jon said, “I had long hair, and it was a rush. I am not old, but it was before Uber, and I had a stretch Hummer limo; I went all out. Me and my mom. I don’t even know where we found a stretch Hummer limo, but it was rolling around mid-town by Losers (a small Nashville bar), where I was playing at the time. I was like, ‘Man, we gotta take a limo to the Grand Ole Opry. We’re doing it, Mom, we’re doing it.’ That’s what I remember that night, and the band playing a little fast.”
Pardi was inducted to the Grand Ole Opry by a surprise guest, Garth Brooks, who said, holding up Pardi’s Opry member trophy, “I’ll tell you what, brother, be careful what you wish for right here ’cause your life is about to go into warp speed right now. I’ve had great honors in my life, none greater than getting to be a member of this family right here. This is the big one.”
Brooks then told the crowd that he met Jon at a CMA party when he was a “baby” act and added that “he was still old then.” He then recalled that he took his very first selfie with Pardi. Garth said that when Jon opened for him in Knoxville in front of 80,00 people, he “had them eating out of his hand.” He added, “What he did was turn the night around to where the pressure was on me when I came out of there. I used to Like Jon Pardi, after that night, I love Jon Pardi.” Brooks said the two will have each other’s back and that his next song will sound very different because “you are a member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
An emotional Jon then thanked Garth, saying that his hero, whom he’s looked up to since he was seven, was right behind him, and it was a full circle moment for him. He noted, “I love the Opry, I love being part of the family, and the future is holding on, I’m holding on Garth.”
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Jon also talked about stepping into the Opry Circle (part of the stage from the original Grand Ole Opry when it played at the Ryman Auditorium) for the first time as a member. He told us, “Tonight, I’ll feel like I’ll be one of those marks in that floor. I think that’s a good feeling. There are a lot of marks on that floor, and to just have one represent me and my career and my family and what I think about country music and what I’ve tried to bring to country music over the years, I feel like that is what the circle is gonna mean tonight for me.”
He added, “I’m nervous every time I get to be in the circle; now I get to feel nervous and a part of it. It’s always like a respectful, nervous thing when you play the Opry, and thank God they have a teleprompter sometimes, man.”
Pardi concluded, “Every time I play the Opry, it’s always fun; I get to bring my band; every time, it feels more and more like home. Getting into the circle is coming back home.”
Five Country Superstars Who Are Not Opry Members
George Strait
Vince Bucci/Getty ImagesGeorge played the Grand Ole Opry show once, his debut performance on the stage in October of 1982. That was the first and last time, and no one really knows why. There is a theory that he could not make the Opry commitment to play the stage very much because he never lived in Nashville; he has always resided in Texas.
Kenny Chesney
Scott Gries/Getty ImagesKenny made his Opry debut in 1996. He has been on the Opry stage a handful of times and once when he paid tribute to George Jones singing his classic, “White Lightning.” These days it’s very rare to see Chesney on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
