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Opry City Stage makes NYC the new home of country music – Metro US

Opry City Stage makes NYC the new home of country music

The Grand Ole Opry is making New York City its “home away from home” with a new destination for country music fans.

For the first time in its more than 90 years of showcasing country music artists, the Grand Ole Opry is expanding beyond its Nashville roots into the heart of New York with Opry City Stage.

Opening Dec. 1 just a block north of Times Square at 1604 Broadway, Opry City Stage is a Hard Rock Cafe-style venue where memorabilia meets live performances in a restaurant setting.

Spanning four stories, Opry City Stage is a shrine to country music memorabilia and folk art, including over 300 photos from the Opry’s archives. Exhibits about the art and culture of country musicians will rotate through, starting with Iconic Fashions from the Opry Archives featuring decades of outfits worn by performers like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift.

While the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville is a theater-style concert venue, Opry City Stage is first and foremost a restaurant, so you’ll have to commit to a meal to see the goods. The heart of the venue is a two-story restaurant, bar and performance stage that spans the second and third floors.

The menu by the Bromberg Brothers, who run the New York-style Southern food Blue Ribbon empire, and features their takes on Southern comfort food like corn fritters ($12), Nashville hot chicken & waffles ($22) and a Tennessean burger with country ham, charred jalapeno and pimento cheese ($23). The menu does have one direct-from-Nashville item: Hopry, an Opry-inspired brew by Yazoo Brewery.

The top floor houses a more intimate (but still restaurant-style) concert space called The Studio at Opry City Stage; the ground floor is a gift shop.

There will be free and ticketed performances, including livestreamed acts straight from the Grand Ole Opry stage — the first time these performances are broadcast anywhere.

For New Year’s Eve, Opry City Stage has already lined up hit Nashville duo LoCash, with Nash Next winners Radio Romance opening. There will be two shows (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.), which include dinner and an open bar. Tickets are on sale now starting at $199.

New Yorkers might need some square dancing pointers first though. Good thing we just gave the heave-ho to the Cabaret Law.

Opry City Stage is open daily for breakfast (7-11 a.m.), lunch (11 a.m.-5 p.m.) and dinner (5 p.m.-midnight) at 1604 Broadway at 49th Street. For more information, call 212-388-5565 or visit oprycitystage.com