Blake Shelton to lead Grand Ole Opry House tour

CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, star of NBC’s hit “The Voice,” and No. 1 hit-maker Blake Shelton has added another gig to his credit. The Grand Ole Opry member is the video host for an all-new tour of the Grand Ole Opry House. Beginning this week, visitors on the Opry House Backstage Pass Tour will get an authentic look behind the scenes of the Opry not only from their tour guide, but also from Shelton, who joins tour groups via video throughout their visit backstage. The Opry member joins groups to talk about their surroundings and share personal stories at the Opry’s backstage entrance, in Studio A, and in the Opry Green Room.

As guests visit the artist backstage check-in area and Opry Member Gallery, Shelton joins in with recollections about the night he was invited to join the Opry and highlights of Opry invitations and inductions featuring Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan, Josh Turner, and Carrie Underwood. “Opry membership is a thrill that never gets old,” Shelton says.

In Studio A, Shelton shares clips from the array of TV series and specials that have been filmed in Studio A, including the most famous one, HEE HAW. Among the vintage performance clips Shelton shares are Hall of Famers Roy Acuff, Bill Anderson, Roy Clark, and Earl Scruggs plus a young Marty Stuart. Shelton’s fellow Opry member Underwood joins the video tour in the Opry’s Green Room, known at the Opry as the Family Room, to provide her perspective on that hub of activity as well as photos of personal significance to her lining the Family Room walls.

Guests on the new tour are also treated to a sampling of 18 artist dressing rooms, newly refurbished following the Nashville flood of 2010. Each dressing room is decorated with a unique theme including “Cousin Minnie,” “Wagonmaster,” “Little Jimmy,” and “Mr. Roy,” (honoring Opry greats Minnie Pearl, Porter Wagoner, Jimmy Dickens, and Roy Acuff, respectively.) Other dressing rooms celebrate “Honky Tonk Angels,” “The Cowboy Way,” and “Friends and Neighbors,” famous personalities from all walks of life who have visited the American institution. Tours culminate with a visit to the Opry stage, where guests have the opportunity to take a photo on the famed circle moved to the Opry House from the Opry’s most famous former home, the historic Ryman Auditorium,.

Daytime tours are available daily. On evenings in which there is only one Opry performance, tours are also available immediately after the show. Opry House Backstage Pass Tours can be booked up to two weeks in advance at opry.com or by calling 800-SEE-OPRY; tour schedules may vary. Tickets for tours are also available at the Opry House Box Office.

For more information, visit www.opry.com or www.gaylordentertainment.com