The lineup for this year’s Opry Country Christmas at the Grand Ole Opry has been announced, and includes several of country music’s biggest stars. Scotty McCreery, Trace Adkins, Jon Pardi, The Oak Ridge Boys, Chris Young, Chris Janson and Steven Curtis Chapman are among the artists who will be part of this year’s holiday celebration.
Each show will also feature numerous Grand Ole Opry members, including The Gatlin Brothers, Riders In The Sky, Mandy Barnett and Charlie McCoy, plus special guests such as Kathy Mattea, Priscilla Block, Chapel Hart, Mickey Guyton and John Berry.
It will be hard for McCreery to top last year’s Opry Country Christmas performance, when he was invited by Garth Brooks to become an official member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“It felt like a dream,” McCreery told WNYT. “I’ve just got so much respect for the Opry, who they are, what they do, what they have done over the years. It’s the best place to sing in country music. One of the best stages in the country, if not the world. It had always been, in the back of my mind, a dream, like ‘Man, one day I would love to become a member here, because it means so much to me.’ And I thought about it on certain nights before, if I was singing, ‘Maybe tonight’s the night.’”
McCreery is grateful to be part of Opry Country Christmas year after year, celebrating two things that mean a lot to him, in one magical evening.
“To me, certain things just go hand in hand,” McCreery told Everything Nash, speaking of being part of the annual holiday event. “Christmastime and the Grand Ole Opry, to me, they do that. It’s been a few years now that I’ve been able to make it up there for Opry Country Christmas, just singing country Christmas songs at the Grand Ole Opry. We’ve got Christmas trees, Christmas lights. Everybody’s holly and jolly. I love it, so hopefully I can keep going back year after year.”
Adkins is also a regular performer for Opry Country Christmas, and at the Grand Ole Opry throughout the year. For the country music icon, it’s still his favorite place to perform.
“I’ve never had a bad experience when I’ve come to the Grand Ole Opry, ever,” Adkins told Everything Nash. “Whether we were here, whether we were at the Ryman, it doesn’t matter. It’s always been a positive experience for me, and I’ve always just loved the family reunion kind of atmosphere and environment backstage.
“Everybody’s dressing room is open, everybody’s just hanging out with each other,” he continued. “No other genre of music has anything like it. I don’t think people really understand that, how special this is to country music. It’s something that nobody else has.”
A list of the dates for Opry Country Christmas are below, with artists for December 2, December 15 and December 23 expected to be announced shortly. Tickets are available at Opry.com.
Opry Country Christmas 2024 Dates:
Sun, Dec 1 — Jon Pardi
Mon, Dec 2
Wed, Dec 4 — The Oak Ridge Boys
Thurs, Dec 5 — Scotty McCreery
Sun, Dec 8 — Chris Young
Wed, Dec 11 — Chris Janson
Sun, Dec 15
Mon, Dec 16 — Trace Adkins
Sun, Dec 22 — Steven Curtis Chapman
Mon, Dec 23