Artist POV: Scotty McCreery Takes Center Stage For Opry’s 100th At Carnegie Hall

Hand on his chest, Scotty McCreery stood at the intersection of two iconic and revered musical pillars – the Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall. With his parents, wife and two young sons in the audience, the significance of the historic return of the Opry to the opulent stage hit home.

“I almost find comfort in it, though,” he says. “You know, it’s like, country comes to the city. I’m excited to showcase that and be a part of the Opry on that stage. I think if I was playing Carnegie Hall without the Opry mic stand in front of me, the nerves might be even a little higher, but the Opry feels like home. So tonight, you know, Carnegie Hall was home.”

The one-night-only event March 20 was part of Carnegie Hall’s “United in Sound: America at 250” festival, which celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary, and was a continuation of the Opry’s 100th anniversary.  

The show marked the Opry’s fourth headlining appearance at Carnegie Hall. The Opry debuted there in 1947 under the billing “Ernest Tubb and the Grand Ole Opry Stars,” with a sold-out concert featuring Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, Minnie Pearl, Red Foley, Eddy Arnold and The Carter Sisters with Mother Maybelle Carter. A return performance in 1961 benefited the Musicians’ Aid Society and was headlined by Patsy Cline in her first and only Carnegie Hall performance. In 2005, the Opry celebrated its 80th anniversary with a show featuring Trace Adkins, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, Trisha Yearwood, along with Opry members Charley Pride, Little Jimmy Dickens and Bill Anderson. 

Two decades later, the cast – who were all making their Carnegie Hall debut – looked very different with McCreery joined by fellow Opry members Kelsea Ballerini, Rhonda Vincent and comedian Henry Cho, along with special guests Wyatt Flores and The War and Treaty.

The musical and cultural diversity represented on stage was intentional, according to Dan Rogers, SVP and Executive Producer of the Grand Ole Opry, which was founded in Nashville in 1925 and is the longest-running live broadcast show in the world.

“Everything we’ve done this year really was a tip of the hat to the past and saying, ‘Here’s who we are now and here’s who we hope to be in the future,’” says Rogers, who oversees more than 200 Opry shows each year. “A real invitation to people to be a part of it, to tune in, to come see us, and just embrace what the Opry means.”

“The Opry has done a great job of honoring the past and the traditions, but they’ve also done a great job of moving forward and welcoming new acts and being diverse,” adds McCreery. “It’s so good to have that diversity on stage but just be one big family backstage. That’s how it should be.”

The 32-year-old North Carolina native has been a household name for half of his life since winning Season 10 of “American Idol” in 2011 at 17. He has sold more than 4 million albums, and achieved 7 No. 1 hits, including his most recent, “Bottle Rockets” featuring Hootie & The Blowfish. Despite their enormous success, it was the band’s first No. 1 song at radio and frontman Darius Rucker joined McCreery March 13 for a surprise performance during C2C in London. Adding the song to his Carnegie Hall four-song set was a natural choice.

“There are some songs that you have to play on a night like this, right?” offers McCreery. “Like ‘Five More Minutes’ is one that I wouldn’t come here to Carnegie Hall and not play, because it’s my baby. It’s my favorite song I’ve written. It got its start on the Opry stage, so I’m excited to play that one tonight. ‘Bottle Rockets’ is a fun kind of anthem. My wife’s here, so ‘It Matters To Her,’ that is her favorite song. ‘Damn Strait’? Of course.”

Rogers made a last-minute addition at soundcheck for the opener with bluegrass torchbearer Vincent and McCreery taking turns on the classic “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” in the styles of Bill Monroe and Elvis Presley.

“That was a fun way to open the show,” says McCreery. “They just want to show different sides of the Opry and that was played way back in the day on the Opry stage. I love Elvis. Elvis was my guy growing up. His gold Greatest Hits was the first album I ever bought with my allowance money. I’ve heard that song a million times, but I’ve never performed it live until that night.”

Several standing ovations later, the night ended with a performance of the Opry’s unofficial theme “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” with McCreery, who was inducted into the Opry in 2025 by Josh Turner and Randy Travis, deftly handling the second verse. 

“I find a lot of my bucket list nights come with the Opry, so getting to come to New York City, one of the biggest cities in the world, and play one of the biggest stages in our country’s history with the Grand Ole Opry – it’s like all tied up nicely in a bow for a really majestic night. …This will be a night we talk about for a long time.”