At the Grand Ole Opry, the show must go on — a little differently

It's the longest-running radio show in the world, and because of the worldwide COVID-19 crisis, it's returning to its roots.

For nearly 100 years, the Grand Ole Opry has presented live music in front of packed houses at Nashville's Dixie Tabernacle, the Ryman Auditorium, and its current home, the Grand Ole Opry House.

But now the landmark radio program will broadcast without a live audience, as it did in its earliest days at the WSM studios in downtown Nashville 94 years ago.

In other words, the show must go on — minus the fans.

The only other time the Opry was cancelled was reportedly on April 6th, 1968, when Nashville officials imposed a 7 p.m. curfew following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis two days before. Instead of the scheduled show, the Opry programmers played a taped performance.

Like many musicians and concertgoers, Canadian country legend Terri Clark is holed up at home, trying to make the most of some rare downtime. She became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2004, and is happy the weekly show will continue uninterrupted — albeit a little differently.

"For them to carry on that tradition without endangering and jeopardizing people's health I think is great," says Clark on the phone from Nashville in an interview with q host Tom Power. "It's a bit of a lifeline to live music without having to be out in the public."

Clark says especially over the last 10 years, the Opry has become popular with a lot of newer artists, and that "it's not just your grandparents' music anymore." In fact, ticket demand became so high that the Opry added Tuesday shows, which have been put on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's definitely evolved over the years from just being a radio show," she says. "But it has come full circle, back to true form."

Clark says if there's a shelter-in-place order, there's a chance the popular show could be interrupted for the second time in its nearly century-long run. But she hopes it can continue, and says she would be happy to perform an audience-free show, as strange as that would seem.

"It must feel really eerie, you know? I don't know the correct word for the feeling, and I think everybody's feeling like life as we knew it is just kind of frozen in time," says Clark, who counters the thought with an uplifting sentiment she saw on Facebook.

"They can't take away music, or laughter. They can't take away friendships. They can't take away being outside. There are a lot of things that we have to be grateful for. Music is in that list of things, and the Opry has always provided that," she says. 

"I'm just so proud to be a member and proud to see them trying to continue to make people happy through this difficult time."

Clark is making the most of the rare stretch of downtime at home by spending time with her dogs, cooking, listening to music and getting in touch with friends. She's also offering regular fireside performances to fans online, and taking their requests.

"When you're in something like this, it feels like it's never going to end. But it is temporary. And we all have to remember that at some point, we'll pick ourselves back up and live life again. But for right now, we have to help hold each other up," says Clark, who adds that her song No Fear, which she co-wrote with Marie Chapin Carpenter, is the most appropriate for with what's happening now.

"I've been given a gift to do that, and have been very grateful for that. So I'm going to use it as much as I can in the capacity that I'm able to."

After all, says Clark, we're in this together.

"I've got to believe that something's going to come out of this that makes humankind just a little kinder and a little nicer, a little better. I'm always looking for a silver lining with everything. I'm an optimist," says Clark. "So my prayers and thoughts go out to everybody, and everybody just stay safe and healthy."

Written by Jennifer Van Evra. Interview produced by Levi Garber.

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