Opryland
Venues
Opryland USA, later officially renamed Opryland Themepark was a music-centric amusement park located in Nashville, Tennessee, operated from 1972 to 1997. It uniquely blend typical amusement park rides with an extensive lineup of Broadway-style musical reviews and live concerts that spanned jazz, bluegrass, and country genres. Beyond serving as a major regional tourism draw, the park an economic engine for local performing artists. Opryland hired thousands of young singers, dancers, and instrumentalists, providing them with professional training and the experience performing multiple live shows a day. This helped jump-started the careers of many future stars including Kristin Chenoweth, Steven Curtis Chapman, and the band Diamond Rio. The park closed on December 31, 1997, as part of a controversial decision to make way for the Opry Mills shopping mall.