Comedian Henry Cho was officially inducted into the Grand Ole Opry family tonight by his friend and Opry favorite Vince Gill.
Gill said to Cho, “I just want to say congrats. And to encourage you to come out here. That’s the best thing you can do for us and that’s why you are becoming a member; because you show up. And when we’re laughing there’s nothing wrong in this world.” Gill then called out Opry members John Conlee, Ben Isaacs, Don Schlitz and Steve Wariner to join him for the induction moment. After presenting Cho with an Opry Member Award, Gill closed, “What you get from this place is friendships, and those will mean more than the funniest joke you will ever write or the biggest hit we will ever have. So welcome to our family.”
As the crowd rose to its feet Cho said, “Thank y’all. For all of you that stood up, I hope you get out of here quickly and the ones that didn’t, I hope you get stuck in traffic. This is a great honor, and I can’t even put it into words. To have my pal Vince do this induction means the world to me. I want to thank my family and thank God- well kinda not in that order. Thank-you Grand Ole Opry.”
“The Opry is going to be stronger, better, and funnier with Henry as an official member,” said Dan Rogers, Opry VP and Executive Producer. “We’re thrilled our dear friend is family.”
Cho, along with Comedian Gary Mule Deer, was surprised in January with an invitation to join the Opry by member Marty Stuart. The two comedians have each played the Opry more than 100 times and are the first comedians to be inducted as members of the Opry since comedian Jerry Clower became an Opry member nearly 50 years ago. Mule Deer’s induction will take place on March 10.
The Grand Ole Opry, the home of country music, officially unveiled a new stage last week marking the first major set change since the show’s 75th Anniversary more than two decades ago. Among the artists scheduled to appear on the Opry in the coming weeks include Bill Anderson, The Isaacs, Crystal Gayle, Jamey Johnson, LOCASH, Dustin Lynch, Ashley McBryde, Scotty McCreery, Craig Morgan, Lorrie Morgan, Wendy Moten, Carly Pearce, Chase Rice, Darius Rucker, Ricky Skaggs, Nate Smith, and Lainey Wilson, among many others.
To purchase tickets go to opry.com. Tickets are on sale now for all shows through August 2023 at (615) 871-OPRY and opry.com. Tennessee residents can save on Opry show tickets year-round with our TN Friends $45 ticket offer. Visit opry.com/tnfriends for details.