Owensboro's Colt Graves Set to Make His Grand Ole Opry Debut

I'm gonna go all Family Feud on you here: Name a famous circle.

In amongst crop circles, the Olympic rings, and Stonehenge, did your brain cells come up with the Circle. It's capitalized because it's the iconic Grand Ole Opry circle. Oops, I mean Circle. If you're a musician--and yes, we're primarily talking COUNTRY musicians--performing in the Circle is a life and career goal. A couple of months ago, ahead of an auspicious anniversary, Nashville's WKRN "profiled" the Circle:

That magic Circle is from a piece of wood cut out of the stage of the historic Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.

One of Owensboro's many talented musicians will be standing in that sacred spot in a little over three weeks. The date is March 22nd, and our own Colt Graves will never forget that date as long as he lives. That's only because you never forget your Grand Ole Opry debut. And how cool is it that this kind of runs in his family? His dad and grandfather ALSO once performed on the Opry stage.

Many of us in the tri-state has seen Colt Graves perform live so many times--Friday After 5 leaps immediately to mind. So how cool will it be to see Colt sing his two, possibly three selections and become a part of Grand Ole Opry history. And making his debut during the Opry's 100th anniversary is icing on the cake.

We send a huge congratulations to Colt Graves. He's living the dream and making new dreams come true.

6 Stars Banned by the Grand Ole Opry (and Why They Got the Boot)

Just because the Grand Ole Opry invites you to perform on their stage once doesn't mean it's necessarily an open invitation. These six performers were all asked to leave at one point or another — and some never got invited back!

Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak

30 Country Stars You Won't Believe Aren't Grand Ole Opry Members

Fifteen living CMA or ACM Entertainers of the Year are not members of the Grand Ole Opry, and a few of them barely recognize the vaunted stage. George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson are three legends who rarely play the Grand Ole Opry. Why?

That answer is often difficult to determine, but this list suggests reasons where appropriate. Membership into the Grand Ole Opry comes with an obligation to play the show frequently, but that's often set aside (Barbara Mandrell is an inactive member, for example). Only living artists are considered, and once a member dies, they are no longer a member.

For that reason, we've not included any country legends who've passed. That eliminates Toby Keith.

As of 2023, there are more than 70 members of the Grand Ole Opry. Historically, nearly 250 men, women and groups were members — so, it's a select group that excludes several Country Music Hall of Famers.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes