NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 2, 2009) Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium has been named Venue of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. The award was voted on by the Academy’s professional members and is part of the Industry Awards category which recognizes contributions to the success and longevity of country music. The 44th Annual ACM Awards show will be held this Sunday, April 5, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Special and Industry awards, including Venue of the Year, will be presented later in the year at the ACM Honors, held annually in the fall. This year’s ACM Honors will be held September 22 in Nashville. Other recipients of awards at the September event include Poet Award winner Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton who was honored with the Jim Reeves International Award. The ACM established in 1964, supports and promotes country music around the world to both fans and professional members. This is the first ACM award for the Ryman.

“The Ryman deserves recognition as an amazing place for any artist to play,” says country legend George Jones. “For at least the last 10 years, I have played the Ryman Auditorium annually, and each year it was to a sold-out crowd. I also played there back when it was The Grand Ole Opry. I love its history and tradition and the warm feeling of closeness you get with the audience, and of course the amazing acoustics. It is definitely the Mother Church of Country Music.”

An impressive number of country greats performed on the Ryman stage in 2008. In addition to sold-out concerts by Jones and fellow country music legend Merle Haggard, the Ryman also hosted events featuring County Music Hall of Famers Ray Price and Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, Marty Stuart, and ACM Pioneer Award-winner Charlie Daniels – who was inducted into the Opry on the Ryman stage in January of 2008. One of the most star-studded events of the year, “CMT Giants: Alan Jackson,” featured performances by Dierks Bentley, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, Hank Williams Jr., Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait and honoree Jackson. Other noteworthy events in 2008 included several music industry award shows: the ASCAP awards, The International Bluegrass Music Awards, and the Americana Awards which featured a surprise performance by Grammy-winning duo Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001, the Ryman has an impressive country music pedigree. Originally built as a revival hall in 1892, by the turn of the century the Ryman was one of the south’s premier venues for music and theater. Artists such as Ethel Barrymore, Charlie Chaplin, and Mae West graced its stage. But it was as home to the Grand Ole Opry that the building gained nationwide recognition. From 1943-74 artists such as Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, Bill Monroe, Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash helped shape country and bluegrass music from the Ryman’s stage. In 1974 when the Opry moved to the new Grand Ole Opry House, the Ryman closed its doors, remaining virtually empty for twenty years. In 1991, Emmy Lou Harris recorded a live album, “Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers at the Ryman,” in the auditorium. This and several other country music events held in the building that year are credited with helping renew interest in restoring the Ryman, and in 1993, owner Gaylord Entertainment announced a multi-million-dollar renovation. The Ryman reopened in 1994 and quickly regained its place as one of the country’s leading concert halls.

“What a wonderful honor,” says Ryman General Manager Sally Williams. “This award speaks volumes about all the people involved with the Ryman – from the amazing artists that take the stage to the world-class staff who take such good care of this national treasure. The Ryman’s concert schedule is always diverse with artists from a variety of music genres, but country music will always be at the heart and soul of the Ryman. It is especially meaningful for this award to come as we prepare to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Ryman’s renovation in June.”

The Ryman continues to pay tribute to its country music heritage in 2009. In honor of the upcoming anniversary of the building’s restoration, the Ryman is bringing back the bio-musical, “Always…Patsy Cline,” which premiered at the Ryman in 1994 only a few days after the building reopened. The play, which runs for six weeks beginning April 15, features original star Mandy Barnett, who originated the role at the Ryman in 1994 and has received rave reviews throughout the years for her uncanny recreations of Cline’s unique and unforgettable sound. Other upcoming country events include the 8th Annual Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam featuring the Oak Ridge Boys, the return of George Jones in concert, and the kick-off for the annual summer Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman series. Like “Always…Patsy Cline,” the bluegrass series launched during the renovated Ryman’s first weeks of operation.

The inaugural event of the restored Ryman, “A Prairie Home Companion,” also returns this spring with host Garrison Keillor.

“There is a magic about the Ryman, as there is about Country Music,” remarks Keillor in the documentary “The Ryman: Mother Church of Country Music.” Ryman favorite and 7-time ACM award winner, Vince Gill, who also returns for an event this spring, echoed Keillor’s sentiments in the opening of his 2007 “Live at the Ryman” concert special. “There’s just something magical about this building…,” Gill says from the venue’s stage. “…This is holy ground.”

###

---