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Grand Ole Opry Tours Get Updated with New Immersive Film

Associated Press

   NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - The backstage of the [1]Grand Ole Opry, a radio
   staple since 1925, is a place where you might run into your favorite
   country star, drop a letter in a singer's mailbox or take a peek inside
   a dressing room where an impromptu jam session is happening.

   Every year, 1 million people come to the Opry House in Nashville,
   Tennessee, to see a performance, or event, or take one of the backstage
   tours that allow fans to see behind the red curtain on the "show that
   made country music famous."

   And a new feature this year on those tours is an immersive film that
   explains the history of the unique institution while showing video
   clips of over 100 different artists on stage. The 14-minute film is
   hosted by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood and is projected onto three
   screens inside the new Circle Room, which is the first stop for fans on
   the Opry's daily tours.

   Country singer Jeannie Seeley is coming up on her 52nd year as a member
   of the Grand Ole Opry, one of only three living female artists who have
   been members longer than 50 years. The singer who had a hit with "Don't
   Touch Me" in 1966, has seen the radio program, the Opry House and its
   tours transform and be updated over the years.

   "It is so alive. It is so realistic," said Seeley of the new film. "I
   think the pacing they did creates that excitement."

   The film is projected onto thousands of reflective threads that make up
   the screens, and the movement of the threads, as well as the curve of
   the screen creates a sense of dimension. Brooks and Yearwood seem
   almost like they are standing on a replica of the circle of wood that
   artists stand in on the real Opry stage.

   "It struck me how difficult it is to represent so many eras and so many
   people and cover 94 years," Seeley said. "It struck me how well they
   did that."

   The film features archival footage of iconic stars from Roy Acuff,
   Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash and Reba McEntire, and clips of artists like
   Carrie Underwood and Darius Rucker being surprised with an invitation
   to become Opry members. The daytime tour also features a guided tour
   throughout the venue, including Studio A where "Hee Haw" was filmed,
   the dressing rooms and the stage.

References

   1. http://www.opry.com/