On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Grand Ole Opry and Opry NextStage hosted “Opry NextStage Live,” which served as a year-end celebration for this year’s Opry NextStage Class with performances by 2023 members Ashley Cooke, Jackson Dean, ERNEST, Chapel Hart, Corey Kent and Kameron Marlowe. Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and 2021 Opry NextStage alum, Lainey Wilson, served as the evening’s MC and headliner.
The festivities wrapped a busy year for this year’s class of eight acts that saw them collectively score two No. 1 songs, release 10 albums, earn 17 major award nominations and perform on the Opry 23 times.
Since 2019, the NextStage program has introduced new talent to the country music fan base and featured artists such as Wilson, Riley Green, Parker McCollum, Tenille Townes and Hailey Whitters who all went on to earn ACM New Male or New Female Artist of the Year trophies the year following their NextStage inclusion.
Other NextStage alumni include Priscilla Block, BRELAND, Niko Moon, Megan Moroney, Ian Munsick, Restless Road and Nate Smith, among others.
L to R: Chapel Hart, ERNEST, Ashley Cooke, Kameron Marlowe, Jackson Dean, Lainey Wilson and Corey Kent | Photo Credit: Catherine Powell
About Opry NextStage
Developed by Opry Entertainment Group and the Grand Ole Opry, Opry NextStage invests in the discovery of new artists with featured original content, Opry performances and support across the brand’s platforms to help tell their stories and expand their audiences. For nearly a century, the Grand Ole Opry has created opportunities for artists throughout the Country music spectrum to make strong connections with fans and fellow artists – on its stages and across its channels – from terrestrial radio to network television to the digital universe and to Circle Network. The Opry has helped launch the careers of countless artists, including Roy Acuff, Garth Brooks, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe and Dolly Parton, to name a few. Award-winning group Little Big Town made its very first public appearance as a group on the Opry stage in 1999, and Carrie Underwood cemented a place in Country music with her first Opry appearance less than two weeks after having been named American Idol in 2005. Audiences around the world look to the Opry to showcase the very best in Country music, and it was with this tradition that Opry NextStage was created.