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A National Historic Landmark, the Ryman Auditorium was built by Captain Thomas G. Ryman in 1892 featuring curved pew seating currently accommodating 2,362.
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| National Historic Landmark |
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| Ryman curved pew seating |
Since 2010 the Ryman Auditorium has been a nine-time winner of the prestigious Pollstar Theatre of the Year award. The historic Nashville venue is currently ranked twenty-fifth in the world and nineteenth domestically based on year-to-date tickets sales in the Pollstar Theatre category.
The Ryman also claims the title of the Mother Church of Country Music as well as being the former home of the Grand Ole Opry (1943-1974).
The Ryman has been featured in numerous film and television projects including Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Johnny Cash Show, American Idol, Nashville, and many more. While offering a diverse lineup and aggressive concert schedule, with over 200 shows per year, the venue is also open for daytime tours year-round.
The Ryman Auditorium isn’t just another music venue. This is the exact spot where bluegrass was born—where Johnny Cash met June Carter, where souls were saved and a slice of history was nearly lost. It was here that country music found an audience beyond its own back porch, and countless careers took off as deals were signed on napkins and paper scraps backstage. This is a building where anything is possible: a soul can find redemption, a crumbling building can find salvation, and an unknown kid with a guitar can find his or her name in lights.
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| Birth of Bluegrass information |
The story began with a 1885 tent revival led by evangelist Samuel Porter Jones.
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| Evangelist Samuel Porter Jones |
Attended by 5,000 people, one of those attendees was steamboat captain and prominent Nashville businessman Capt. Thomas G. Ryman.
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| Captain Thomas G. Ryman |
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| Thomas G Ryman Statue at front of the Ryman |
The captain was so moved by the experience that he dedicated his life and fortune to building and constructing the Union Gospel Tabernacle, a place where all people could gather and worship. When Ryman died, the name was changed from Union Gospel Tabernacle to Ryman Auditorium to honor his legacy.
When show promoter Lula C. Naff leased the building and took the reins in the 1920's, the Ryman became the anchor of Nashville’s cultural offerings. The venue was known as the Carnegie of the South, hosting sought-after traveling acts including John Philip Sousa, RoyRogers, Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Katharine Hepburn, BobHope, Mae West, and even former President Theodore Roosevelt.
When the Grand Ole Opry put down roots at the Ryman in 1943, the world would never be the same as a live radio and TV show brought the likes of Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Minnie Pearl, Patsy Cline, and Roy Acuff to the stage and into living rooms around the country for thirty one years.
Don’t think that Ryman is just for country music fans. This venue draws artists from all corners of the globe and all entertainment genres, eager to experience the privilege of facing the pews. The outstanding acoustics and intimate atmosphere have beckoned artists from Elvis to Emmylou Harris, Paul Simon to the Pixies, and from Kings of Leon to B.B. King. It’s one of the reasons a Ryman show is unlike any other.
The Ryman is also known around the globe as one of the best performance halls in the world. It was born this way. Built to project the booming voices of evangelists and enhanced by cutting-edge technology, the room of century-old, wrap-around church pews and the signature curves of the room create a warm, clear sound environment like no other room on the planet.
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| Main entrance to Ryman |
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| Loretta Lynn statute at Ryman |
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| Roy Acuff/Minnie Pearl statue inside Ryman |
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| Photo stop before you enter the Ryman |
You will begin your Ryman daytime self-guided tour immersed in a state-of-the-art “Soul of Nashville” theater experience, a journey through the Ryman’s magical history and her impact on American music. As you take your seat in the 100-seat custom-built theater you will find yourself at the center of the show as holograms, special effects, multidimensional film images and archival footage brings the Ryman story to life. It's all around you. It's like being in a 3D movie but without the glasses. You will see plenty of life size star power including Darius Rucker, The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill and others that loom larger than life as the 126-year history takes shape around you. An experience you have to see to believe.
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| Soul of Nashville theater experience |
The tour also welcomes you to take a seat in the pews, just as the steamboat captain intended. You can explore the Ryman at your own pace and dive deeper into its history with five special exhibits: “Workin’ on a Building,” “Roots Run Deep,” “Showplace of the South,” “Turn It Up! Ryman’s Rock Legacy,” and “Ryman Renaissance.” Get to know the stories with short films hosted by Sheryl Crow, Marty Stuart, Nicole Kidman, Ricky Skaggs, Robin Roberts and Trisha Yearwood as they take you through each chapter of the fascinating Ryman story. Also be sure that you step up to the famous on-stage mic and have your souvenir photo taken.
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| Souvenir photo taken at the Ryman mic |
Individual tickets for the self-guided tour will run $26 per person and operate from 9am-4pm daily. For more information contact the Ryman Auditorium.
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