CLIFTON FORGE—The Virginia Opry will feature Denise Glass paying tribute to Patsy Cline and Bruce Allen, Jason Burke, Keith Bryant and Glen Shelton paying tribute to The Grand Ole Opry, Sat., Feb. 10 at 7:00 p.m.
The five members of The Virginia Opry are all recording artists, and the tribute to Patsy Cline and The Grand Ole Opry will be performed on the same stage at The Historic Masonic Theatre where The Virginia Opry made its debut on Oct. 17, 1992.
On Feb. 17, 2017, The Virginia House of Delegates honored The Virginia Opry by passing “House Resolution 397” which commends The Virginia Opry for producing country music shows in the Alleghany Highlands for 25 consecutive years. Governor Ralph S. Northam signed “Senate Bill 283” on March 31, 2020, to designate The Virginia Opry as the official Opry of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic that closed many theatres, The Virginia Opry’s consecutive performance streak continued with one show having been staged prior to the statewide theatre closures and by performing a Christmas show at The Historic Masonic Theatre in Dec. of 2020, without an audience in the seats. The show at the Masonic was steamed live on “Facebook.”
Ray Allen, founder and director of The Virginia Opry, said, “The first show of our 33rd performance season will be highly entertaining, and a large audience attended the Patsy Cline tribute she performed at the Masonic nearly a decade ago.”
He added, “Bruce Allen first performed in the Masonic in the mid-1990s as a featured guest of The Virginia Opry, and he and Jason Burke were inducted into The Virginia Opry last year when they opened for Charles Billingsley and his band that enjoyed three standing ovations at the Masonic.”
Bryant has performed a number of times on The Virginia Opry, including opening for Ashley Cooke, Lily Rose and Chris Lane at Lime Kiln Theater in 2022, The Virginia Opry’s show that more than 2,000 country music fans attended. Two of Bryant’s recordings have charted on “Hot Country’s Top 50,” and he helped write and then recorded “Riding with the Legend,” the song which resulted in landing him a three-year national tour from the West Coast to Vermont. The tour enabled him to establish a solid reputation as a country recording artist with Tandem Records of San Diego, especially with NASCAR fans.
Bruce Allen, who is married to Bryant’s sister, is the CEO of Jordash Records in Nashville, and he recently signed Glen Shelton of Madison Heights to a recording contract. Shelton first performed in the 1990s at the Masonic and is a member of The Virginia Opry where he serves as a vocalist and emcee. “I’m All In” and “Writing You a Love Song” are two of Shelton’s current hits that have charted for Jordash Records.
The first half of the show will feature Denise Glass’ tribute to Patsy Cline. Glass has performed in Memphis during Elvis Days and in Mt. Airy, North Carolina during Mayberry Days. After making her debut at the Lee Theatre in Pennington Gap, she has pursued her career as a vocalist, often opening for Michael Hoover, the world-champion Elvis tribute artist and his band.
Ray Allen remarked, “She and Michael Hoover received three standing ovations for The Virginia Opry’s sell-out show titled Patsy Meets Elvis at The Virginia Opry on Aug. 12, 2022, at the Natural Bridge Historic Hotel and Conference Center where each received a standing ovation before performing duets that garnered them a third standing ovation.”
“As founder of The Virginia Opry and Appalfolks of America Association (AAA), I am happy to offer country music patrons our “Sweetheart Ticket Deal” for this show, a deal that offers members of the public the opportunity to purchase two tickets for the price of one,” Allen noted.
He concluded, “Appalfolks of America’s Board of Directors decided to reward our faithful followers with the “Sweetheart Ticket Deal” as a token of appreciation for their more than three decades of loyalty.”
The Virginia Opry performed eight shows in 2023, three at The Historic Masonic Theatre, two at the Natural Bridge Historic Hotel and Conference Center, one at the TINPAN in Richmond, one at 5Points Music Sanctuary in Roanoke, and one at The Rapture in Charlottesville.
Tickets for The Virginia Opry range from $15-$25 depending upon seating locations, and tickets may be purchased online at www.historicmasonictheatre.com, by calling the box office at (540) 862-5655 or by visiting the box office at 510 Main Street, Clifton Forge, Va.
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