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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
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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
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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.
