Carly Pearce celebrated her 100th appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday, April 11, with a star-studded show. The Kentucky native was joined by Ashley McBryde, to sing their Grammy-winning hit, “Never Wanted To Be That Girl.” Ricky Skaggs, who inducted Pearce into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, sang Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” with Pearce, while Ben and Sonja Isaacs added their harmonies to “Easy Going,” from 29: Written in Stone. Lady A‘s Charles Kelley joined Pearce to sing her No. 1 duet “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” which she originally recorded with Lee Brice.
“I remember thinking that I was gonna throw up right before,” Pearce said from stage (via American Songwriter), recalling her first Grand Ole Opry performance. “It was all of my dreams come true. The Opry was something, as a little girl growing up in Kentucky, that I always wanted. I equate it to your wedding day – it’s such a whirlwind.”
Pearce looked to one of her musical heroes, namely Carrie Underwood, in how she has approached the Grand Ole Opry since the beginning of her career.
“I’ve always said that Carrie Underwood is my inspiration for the way that she cares about the Opry and the way she has made it such a part of her platform,” Pearce explained. “I hope that the Opry at this point knows that I feel responsible to be one of the ladies in the next generation that carries that torch.”
— Carly Pearce (@carlypearce) April 12, 2023
Pearce had more to celebrate last night than her 100th appearance at the Opry. The 32-year-old received two plaques: one in recognition of “What He Didn’t Do” being certified platinum, and one celebrating all of her accomplishments so far, including four ACM Awards, three CMA Awards, being named a CMT Artist of the Year, four No. 1 singles and over two billion global streams, plus other achievements.
In June of 2021, Dolly Parton invited Pearce to join the Grand Ole Opry, marking the first time Parton had ever issued the invitation.
“Dolly is not only one of America’s greatest living songwriters, vocalists, entertainers and superstars,” Pearce said at the time. “She represents all of the values country music holds for me. She has the grace of a woman in full, a heart that is all love, the grit to get it done, the courage to stand up for herself and just enough glitter to be everyone’s fairy godsister…”
“And the Opry? It’s been the greatest love of my life since I was a young girl listening with my grandparents,” she continued. “All of the greatest writers, legends and pioneers have been on that stage, and I feel them in my bones anytime I walk in the stage door… To actually be asked to join the Opry family, there are no words.”
Trisha Yearwood officially inducted Pearce on August 3, fulfilling a dream Pearce had held since she was a little girl.
“There are a lot of things that I could say, and I’ve tried to think of how to sum up what this means to me,” Pearce said during her induction ceremony. “The best way to describe it is, when I was a little girl, I dreamt of country music, and I dreamt of singing on this stage. And my grandma, my Mamaw and my Papaw Pearce, I always told them that if I made it here, they would be front row. And they didn’t get to see that happen, but I really do genuinely feel like they’re here with me tonight. And I know that it was my dream as much as it was theirs.”
Pearce is currently putting the finishing touches on her next album. Find music and tour dates at CarlyPearce.com.
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Photo Credit: Courtesy of BMLG / Alexa Powell