Dustin Lynch was just invited to be the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry! The 33-year-old was invited to join by Trace Adkins, who was also celebrating his 15th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“This is my 15th anniversary, so I can do whatever I want,” Adkins said, surprising Lynch on stage. “I wanted to come out here and talk to Dustin for a second. He told me a while ago that he’s been playing on the Opry for about six years now, and I know what it means to you. I know what it means to me. Having been a member of the Opry for 15 years, it’s at the top of the list of achievements in my career. Being a member of the Grand Ole Opry is at the top of that list, and always will be.
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“So, I was just wondering,” Adkins continued, “you’re going to be back here playing on September 18th, I heard. Well I’m here to tell you that when you play here on September 18th, it will be as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
It took Lynch, stunned and elated, a few moments to catch his breath before he spoke.
“I wish you weren’t so big. I wanted to pick you up and I couldn’t,” Lynch quipped to Adkins.
“This is not something that is taken lightly around here,” Adkins said. “All the folks in the Grand Ole Opry are very selective, and we want people to be members of the Grand Ole Opry that will have respect for this institution that it deserves, that it has earned for 92 years now, and we think that Dustin Lynch is going to carry on that proud tradition, and we’re glad to have him.”
The “Good Girl” singer was too emotional to speak at first, while he absorbed what just occurred.
“I can’t even talk from crying,” Lynch said. “A lot of things have happened over the last years and it all started with ‘Cowboys and Angels.’”
Later, backstage, Lynch was able to articulate his thoughts.
“”I’m a cry baby,” he told Nashville’s Tennessean. “As a kid, you have big dreams and this is one of the biggest ones. Growing up, you learn country music through the Grand Ole Opry through TV and on the radio. It’s a whirlwind of all the times we’ve played here, and who I’ve had the honor of seeing and shaking hands with. I’m sick to my stomach. This is my greatest achievement.”
Tickets to Lynch’s Opry induction can be found at Opry.com.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Terry Wyatt
