Opry Stage Hosts Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration

Ricky Skaggs photo courtesy of Skaggs Family Records

September 12, 2006--Some of bluegrass music’s most awarded acts are confirmed to take the stage as the Grand Ole Opry® presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® presents the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration Tuesday, September 26. This year’s celebration is set to feature four 2006 IBMA Entertainer of the Year nominees: Cherryholmes, The Grascals, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and Rhonda Vincent. Also joining the excitement that night will be Ricky Skaggs, Alecia Nugent, Jim Lauderdale, and Opry and Bluegrass Hall of Honor member Jesse McReynolds.

The Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration is the latest in the Opry’s Signature Show Series and falls during the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) World Of Bluegrass event and Bluegrass Fan Fest held in Nashville September 25--October 1. That weekend’s Opry shows are set to feature even more great bluegrass, including Ricky, Cherryholmes, Rhonda, and The Grascals, all of whom will appear on Grand Ole Opry Live on GAC Saturday, September 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

The Opry’s long-standing fall bluegrass show was renamed the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration after Bill's death in 1996 and moved this year to be a part of Bluegrass Week in Nashville. Bill, who influenced generations of bluegrass artists and is known world-wide as the "Father of Bluegrass," is a member of the Bluegrass Hall of Honor and both the Country Music and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame.