Chris Young at the Grand Ole Opry: Backstage Photos and Stories
Chris Young made a special appearance on the Grand Ole Opry last month, using the famous radio show to introduce fans to his brand new single, the romantically-charged booty call of "I’m Comin' Over." The Tennessee native has sang on the revered stage many time before, but now that he has established himself as a consistent country hitmaker (with five Number One songs and his fifth album, I'm Comin' Over, on the way), he's starting to become a familiar face around the Opry, too.
In celebration of the Grand Ole Opry's 90th birthday, which includes a calendar full of celebratory events this fall, Young took Rolling Stone Country for a behind-the-scenes look at its inner-workings. With photographer Chris Hollo in tow, the singer-songwriter shows off the close-knit, family atmosphere that keeps the historic show running, the way fans can actually hang out with their favorite stars, and the nerve-wracking magic of performing on the same floorboards as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and all of the country greats.
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V.I.P. Entrance
Country music fans from around the world come to experience the Grand Ole Opry, and almost all of them enter through a massive glass façade out front. Not the artists, though, who jump off their tour busses and head directly backstage. "That's the first thing you see when you're walking in the back of the Opry, which is always fun for me," says Young. "I just love that I get to go in that way, because I used to have to buy tickets and go in the front."
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Down to Business
Long before Opry fans start to take their seats, there's business to attend to for country stars. "That's the front desk," Young explains. "He's the guy that tells you what dressing room you're in and if they have anything for you to sign coming in, like memorabilia and stuff. It's funny, I used to have to go, 'Yeah, I'm Chris Young, I'm playing tonight.' But the fact that now I've gotten to the point where he recognizes me on sight is pretty cool."
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Young-er Years
The dressing rooms at the Grand Ole Opry are a unique attraction of their own. This one's theme is artists making their first Opry appearance, and Young's picture is on the wall, along with Taylor Swift and several others. "The style has changed a little bit over the years," he jokes about his early look. "Definitely not rocking the cowboy hat anymore. That was from my first time on the Opry, so I love that they actually have a picture of me hanging up backstage. It's up all the time."
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Celebrity Sightings
The Opry offers backstage tours to fans all the time, and if they get lucky, they might just bump into a few of the night's entertainers. "I was walking them around backstage and we ran into Mark Wills," Young recalls. "I was like, 'Hey, get over here and I'll take a photo of y'all.'"
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Picture Perfect
Part of the job description for today's country stars includes mastering the art of the selfie. "I've got to the point now where unless somebody just really objects to the selfie, I'm just like, 'Man, I've got this," says Young, pictured here with a young fan named Lane. "I think I know how to run every phone that exists."
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Bandwidth
Becoming a master selfie artist is all about practice. Here Young demonstrates the proper technique for a wide-angle shot. "That's me, my band and my crew, and it's right before we went onstage," says Young. "That is not my phone, though, my phone is not purple and blue."
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Spontaneity
Since the Opry is a live show, plans tend to change fast. Just before taking the stage, Young and his band make final preparations. "We were actually talking about what order we wanted to play the songs in, which normally we do way before," he explains. "But one of the things about the Opry is you're only playing three or four songs. I think we were supposed to play three that night but they asked us to do four at the last minute, so we had to add a song."
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Inner Circle
An Opry show is never business-as-usual for Young, mostly because of the history surrounding the famous program. A small circle in the center of the stage is made of floorboards from the original home of the Opry, the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The Opry moved in 1974, but when an artist stands on that center circle, they're sharing the space with greats like Hank Williams, Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl. "Standing on the circle," Young marvels, "that's a cool place to be."
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Magic Mic
Another trademark of the Opry are the microphone placards — a throwback to the early days. "The WSM Grande Ole Opry microphone, I love that it's still on there because if you see that shot, there's no question about where you're performing," says Young. Some things will never change, but even the Opry is not immune to the pull of Facebook and Twitter (as you can tell from the #Opry sign).