ERIN ENDERLIN

Saturday October 2, 2021

Grand Ole Opry's 96th birthday party @ Grand Ole Opry Plaza in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

There isn’t anything more synonymous with country music then the legendary Grand Ole Opry - the longest running radio broadcast in U.S. history.

Known as “the show that made country music famous,” The Grand Ole Opry has always provided a stage for the innovative artist, given the opportunity to the new generation to shine alongside the legendary ones that came before them, and carries the rumor that the ghosts of country music legends still play their iconic songs today inside their famous circle.

Just outside of the Grand Ole Opry House’s main entrance sits the wonderful Opry Plaza, which over the years has become a place for well-known photo opportunities with their two huge guitars, but it’s also a spot where some of Music City’s best artists gather in celebration from time to time to provide the country music faithful with great songs and “Only in Nashville” moments.

After a 2020 that had a lot of people questioning the future of live music, the Grand Ole Opry’s 96^th birthday celebration was destined to be a party on the plaza like no other.

To kick off the Saturday afternoon festivities, the Opry welcomed traditional influenced singer/songwriter Erin Enderlin to the plaza stage.

Enderlin has landed cuts with Alan Jackson (“Monday Morning Church”), Lee Ann Womack (“Last Call”), Terri Clark, Reba, Luke Bryan, and many more! But as an artist, she’s been very innovative in releasing new songs one at a time over this past year so that the listener can live in the moment with each individual song.

Enderlin, who has her EP Barroom Mirrors releasing just two weeks from the date of this show, took to the stage in front of a Saturday afternoon crowd and pulled us into her songwriter vibe while delivering all the proper fabrication through her traditional style that has made the Grand Ole Opry stand the test of time.

She instantly offered both ends of her style as she opened her 50-minute set with her strong storytelling on “Caroline,” but then quickly shifted to her toe-tapping, honky-tonk side with “Baby Sister,” both of which come from her 2017 Whiskeytown Crier album.

“I love the Grand Ole Opry,” Enderlin stated as the crowd cheered in approval. “I actually used to work here as a hostess about a decade ago, and I’ve been lucky enough to have stood on that stage and played songs 15 times now, come this next time on October 15^th,” she finished as she played the Opry soaked “I Can Be Your Whiskey” from her 2019 Faulkner County album.

“I don’t know about y’all, but I love the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,” Enderlin began as the crowd cheered at the mention of the legendary groups name. “I got to go into the studio a few years ago with my friend Jeff Hanna and record “Fishin’ in the Dark,” so I’m gonna play that one now for y’all,” she finished as she started strumming the opening notes of the popular song - albeit with her unique twist to it - and had people clapping and singing along with her by the time the first chorus came around.

She gave the crowd their first taste of her newest material with “Somebody’s Shot of Whiskey,” before pausing to talk about the crazy type of stuff that can only happen in Nashville before she played “Whatever Gets You Through the Night.”

“I was out playing a show with Jamey Johnson and Willie Nelson, and somebody came up to me afterwards and asked if they could take their photo with me. I told him that I could do him one better than that because I also had my CD with me, and so I gave him one. We took the photo and he asked for my phone number and told me he wanted to let his boss hear my songs. I thought that maybe his boss was having a house party or something and that they might book me to play at it, so I was like sure. I got a call about a week later and it was him; he had his boss there with him, and he told me he wanted me to hear something…his boss was Merle Haggard, who is one of my favorite songwriters, and he was on the other end of the phone singing one of my songs. That’s so crazy! The type of thing that can only happen in Nashville!”

“Well, speaking of songwriters I love; Another one is Kris Kristofferson, and so I’d like to play one of his songs if y’all don’t mind,” Enderlin asked the crowd who gave her the hand-clap signal of approval as she played “Me and Bobby McGee.”

“I’ve got a new project coming out October 15,” Enderlin plugged. “It’s called Barroom Mirrors and I’d like to play the title track from it,” she finished as she dove into “Barroom Mirrors,” followed by “Cut Through Me,” a song she told was recorded for the album as a duet with Roseanne Cash, which she excitedly then said, “will be my first official song sent to radio as a single.”

“This next song is really special to me. I moved to Nashville to write and play country music and the very first show I ever went and saw when I got here was Terri Clark. I would put on her No Fear album and psyche myself up as I drove around to pitch my songs,” Enderlin reminisced. “As of right now, Terri has cut 7 of my songs,” she continued with gratitude in her voice, “and she came in to do this one with me on my new album,” she finished as she played “If There Weren’t So Many Damn Songs,” before closing her set with “Last Call,” a song which she stated about, “I was lucky enough to have this one cut by Lee Ann Womack.”

FULL SET LIST

1) Caroline

2) Baby Sister

3) I Can Be Your Whiskey

4) Fishin’ in the Dark

5) Somebody’s Shot of Whiskey

6) Whatever Gets You Through the Night

7) Me and Bobby McGee

8) Barroom Mirrors

9) Cut Through Me

10) If There Weren’t So Many Damn Songs

11) Last Call

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