I was born in Nashville (like Bettie Page - hah!) and even though "the Grand Ole Opry" the media speaks of lately is actually the relocated Opry that was transferred into Nashville's "Opryland" amusement park from its original downtown Nashville digs -- still -- if you are a fan of rock and roll, rockabilly, bluegrass, country, etc., you should care about this.
(The original/"real" Grand Ole Opry is still downtown in a huge red brick building, commemorated with a placque. But it moved to where it is now, at Opryland.)
The US South invented rock 'n roll. Never forget that.
And a lot of that came from Tennessee. The "golden quartet" of Memphis was Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins, from Jackson, TN. Roy Orbison also went to TN to record his seminal stuff.
You can go here to donate keeping the Grand Ole Opry afloat (no pun intended) during the recent torrential floods: <http://www.opry.com/>
Oh, yeah, and NOLA, another hub of great American culture/music, is also under threat. Is it because it's "the SOUTH" that no one gives it immediate attention now -- or what?
What if the Grand Ole Opry was in Manhattan?
-B.