Ryman Auditorium
Venues
The Ryman Auditorium is a historic concert hall in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Now known as the "Mother Church of Country Music" the Ryman opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, built by Thomas Ryman after a revival sermon by the Rev. Sam Jones changed his life. The building was renamed in his honor after his death in 1904. Its defining chapter began on June 5, 1943, when the Grand Ole Opry moved in for a nearly 31-year run. It was on the Ryman stage in December 1945 that Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys debuted a young banjo player named Earl Scruggs, and with Lester Flatt, Chubby Wise, and Howard Watts, creating the sound that would become bluegrass. After the Opry left for its new home in 1974, the Ryman sat largely dark until Emmylou Harris and her Nash Ramblers recorded a live album there in 1991, sparking a restoration that reopened the hall in June 1994. Today it is one of the most acclaimed venues in the world, and one that the Opry returns to every winter.
In the newsletter
- No. 5 Oct.—Dec. 1995