the Grand Ol' Opry-In Deming!

On Saturday, we were excited to find that there was going to be a live performance of the Grand Ol' Opry right in downtown Deming. We were thinking this would be a fun way to spend the afternoon. Then we heard that two of the rangers here at Rockhound were singing in the show and we knew we had to attend.

So we jumped in our trusty Tracker and took off for town. When we arrived, about thirty minuted before curtain time, we were surprised to see a packed house, Fortunately, we snagged the last two aisle seats, so I decided to get my tripod and take a few photos of the performance (with permission of course). Since we were pretty far back in the room, these aren't great photos, but several folks in attendance wanted to see them, so bear with me here.

And I apologize, I wasn't able to get a clear shot of every performer, some just didn't come out (but remember that you can always click on an image for a larger view).


The show included tunes by Glen Campbell, played by Glen Scarpella, a fine guitar player


Wynona Judd, played by Lana Richardson, sincere and soulful, sorry the picture didn't come out. She was followed by Hank Thompson, played by Carl Machande, who had a wonderful stage presence and was quite the entertainer




Minnie Pearl, played by Jo Kruger, an on target channelling of the great Minnie, quite funny with a sharp delivery


Porter Wagoner, played by Joe Polichio, an exceptionally fine voice


Hank Williams, played by Bob Delp, especially good on Kaw-Liga


And this was just the first act!

The second act started with a really fine Floyd Cramer, played by Max Crook, super on keyboards


Loretta Lynn, played by Park Ranger Gloria Reed, who really enjoyed entertaining, quite the stage presence. I LOVED that she sang "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", one of my very favorite country songs.


Marty Robbins, played by Ranger Larry Reed, a fine guitarist and vocalist


Next up was a local favorite named Charlene, played by Dana Stout, quite funny and a champion yodeler. Unfortunately, none of the shots came out, a shame, she has a great costume.

Closing out the show was Eddie Arnold, played by Harold Richmond, who had a great voice and really sounded like the wonderful Eddie


The show ended with all the performers coming on stage and leading an audience sing a long of the great Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land"


We had a wonderful time and were excited to learn that they have a jam session every Sunday with many of the same musicians, and we plan on attending some of these sessions while we're in the area.

This was such a great afternoon, we find the more time we spend in Deming the more we like it (we are also quite fond of Alamogordo). As time go by, we are leaning more and more towards New Mexico, it is truly the Land of Enchantment.


Life is good (particularly in New Mexico)