Every third Monday of the month at 7:30pm, the Fayette County Country Music Club holds their very own Country Music Opry at the La Grange Knights of Columbus Hall. A house band of local musicians play each month along with the occasional out of town musicians who stop by to play for publicity and experience in front of a crowd of about 300 to 400 people.
Even though the set up is nothing fancy, the musicians that play are usually not very established, and the average age of the people who come to watch is probably around 65, the Fayette County Country Music Club Opry was a big part of my childhood days. Because my dad and grandpa are a part of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charity fraternity, they would often have to work during the opry. I can remember as early as age three or four watching the musicians sing old country songs, from Hank Williams to Johnny Cash to Dolly Parton. I can probably sing almost any traditional country song that is thrown at me word for word, and I have the opry to thank for my impressive skills.
When I was younger, I remember my older brother, Chase, and I giving my mom the hardest time about going and after dragging us there, we were always more interested in playing “wall ball” and eating hamburgers in the back room than sitting with all the “old people” and listening to “ancient country music.” We stopped going to the opry with my parents when Chase got into middle school and they trusted us to stay home alone for a few hours by ourselves. The last time I attended was probably my sophomore year in high school to watch my friend, Briana Adams, play.
I recently thought about the Fayette County Country Music Club Opry when considering what to blog about. I got really excited about the opry because it is actually perfect for this class. When I called my mom to see if it was something that still went on, she was surprised about my new interest in it. Looking back now I wish my juvenile self had realized how cool it actually is that little La Grange puts on the Fayette County Country Music Club Opry (at the point in my life where this tends to be happening more and more). I plan on going to check it out again soon, which I know will make my grandma happy, and I am not ashamed to say I am truly excited to hear some good traditional country music!
I wanted to share some footage from the opry, so I found some videos on YouTube. The videos are a few years old, but I feel they give a good sense of what the Fayette County Country Opry is like! Also, you should check out my friend Briana Adams! She’s so talented and definitely has a very traditional country feel!
Thanks, Brittany, for your post. I have really enjoyed getting to know the country music scene in the La Grange area — especially because I had no idea it existed before meeting you. I feel like I comment about this a lot, but I think “old” country music is something a lot of us have grown up listening to but taking for granted. I am happy to think that taking the class has helped you to get interested in it again.