Scotty McCreery has crossed a lot of items off of his bucket list, but there’s one big one he is still dreaming of: becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. The American Idol alum has already performed on the sacred stage dozens of times, hoping someday to be invited to join several of his own musical heroes, in becoming an official Grand Ole Opry member.
“I think everybody knows for me, I grew up on traditional country, and I love where country is at currently,” McCreery shared with Everything Nash and other outlets at a recent media event. “I will always love the genre. I’ll always love the storytelling aspect of country music. And I think the Opry has done a great job of carrying on that classic traditional country, while also embracing what’s going on currently in the format as well. I think they’ve struck a great balance there, and I think the Opry will always be very important to country music.”
McCreery credits the early days of the Grand Ole Opry, and its beginning on the WSM radio station, with not only helping inspire his love of country music, but millions of others as well.
“I love driving down the highway [in Nashville], and pointing out the old signal tower and being like, ‘You see that? You see that tower right there? That’s why country music is a thing, because people can hear it for miles and miles,” McCreery said. “So the Opry to me is massively important to country music and always will be. And I will always be honored to step on that stage. If the invitation ever comes, I will lose my mind. And it would be one of my life’s greatest achievements by far. So we’ll see if that day comes. But I love that place for sure.”
McCreery recently celebrated five consecutive No. 1 hits, with his latest “Damn Strait” single, which stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks. It’s a series of successes the North Carolina is still coming to terms with, far exceeding the dreams he once had for his career.
“I’m still kind of processing it, I think,” McCreery conceded. “To me, it still feels like yesterday that my biggest goal was, and I said this all the time, ‘I just want to get one song to the top of the charts in country music.’ Because in my mind, that’s when you know you’ve made it, when you have a song on country radio that’s really made it to the top. But to have five in a row is just bananas to me. I don’t take it lightly. We’re celebrating. We’re grateful, and just having so much fun.”
McCreery will celebrate the success of “Damn Strait” with a special show at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where Strait’s career began. The show will take place on September 23. Find all of McCreery’s music and tour dates by visiting his website.
