Steve Earle Invited To Become A Member Of The Grand Ole Opry 

Over the weekend Steve Earle became the first artist of the year invited to join the Grand Ole Opry, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025. He will officially be inducted later this year.

Earle received the news from Opry member and longtime friend Vince Gill, who took the stage after Earle’s performance of “Copperhead Road” and presented the legendary artist with a personalized guitar strap commemorating the Opry’s 100th. 

“You have to be an Opry member to have one of these,” Gill said. “We want to invite you to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.”  

Earle responded, “This is kind of the biggest thing that has ever happened to me in my life” and then performed another tune (“Hillbilly Highway”) per Gill’s request. 

Earle’s previous accolades include being inducted into the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame and multiple Grammy Awards. As an announcement from the Grand Ole Opry’s PR team notes that the Earle has been “called one of the most influential singer/songwriters of the past 30 years,” with his songs covered by artists including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Patty Loveless, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, and Eric Clapton, among others. 

The artist – who has tackled a range of genres including alternative country, folk, blues, country rock and Americana – has also appeared in several films and had recurring roles in the HBO series “The Wire” and “Tremé.” He’s also published a novel and collection of short stories, produced albums for artists such as Joan Baez and Lucinda Williams, and is the host of the weekly show “Hard Core Troubadour” on SiriusXM Radio’s Outlaw Country channel.

Earle is managed by Gold Village Entertainment’s Jesse Bauer and his agents are UTA’s Christian Bernhardt and David Zedeck.

In 2022 he took part in a long-form cover story Q&A with Ray Waddell, Chief Content Director for Pollstar parent company Oak View Group. Check out the cover story here: https://news.pollstar.com/2022/06/21/the-pollstar-interview-legendary-singer-songwriter-steve-earle-takes-off-the-mask/

Recent reports submitted to Pollstar Boxoffice for Earle include a March 14 show at New York’s City Winery that sold 323 tickets and grossed $27,680.