Brett Eldredge Recalls Career-Changing Advice From Whisperin’ Bill Anderson at the Opry

Brett Eldredge is a veteran performer, but the seasoned singer reveals there is one stage that makes still makes him nervous: the Grand Ole Opry.

“I still get really nervous at the Opry, I’m not going to lie,” Eldredge admitted to PopCulture.com at a recent media event. “I don’t get a lot of stage fright, but for whatever reason, I get nervous at the Opry. I’ve heard that from so many artists who have played arenas or stadiums of 30,000 people, and they’ll go play the Opry and be like ‘Oh my God.’ It’s just a magic place.”

One of the most valuable pieces of information the “Long Way Home” singer ever received was right before his debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry in 2010, from someone who has been an Opry member for more than 50 years.

“I think pieces of advice and wisdom you are given early on in your career come back and remind you even more later on, once you start seeing how it’s unfolding,” shared Eldredge. “Whisperin’ Bill Anderson was standing side-stage with me, and he was introducing me for the first time on the Grand Ole Opry, and I got to know him a little bit. We were writing songs and actually even played a song that we wrote together [‘Lose It All’], and I’ll just never forget – he said ‘Make sure you remember moments like this.’ There would be times in my career when I’d be worried about what the next song was and what the next hit was, and always looking forward, and where I’m going, and what’s that next piece of success. He’s like, ‘This moment is what matters, right here.’”

Those words have carried Eldredge not only through his Grand Ole Opry performances, but throughout his entire career.

“It’s become more and more real to me,” added Eldredge. “I pay attention a lot more to those kind of things. When I walked on stage and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, I’m really here right now. This is really where I’m supposed to be in my life.’ Every moment that I hit that stage, that’s the moment I was made to do; it’s for that moment and it made me see that and feel that and not worry about what is ahead. Every show is something really special, and I get that feeling every time now. And when I don’t, I think about Whisperin’ Bill.”

Eldredge will kick off his The Long Way Tour in Garden City, Idaho, on April 5, with Devin Dawson serving as his opening act. Dates can be found on Eldredge’s website.

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