Last night, Randy and I made our first visit to the Tula Opry. (See more information here). This great little place in the community of Tula (about 15 miles or so out of Oxford) is now home to Tula Opry. We had heard the band play last summer down in Water Valley (Small Town Mississippi on Friday Night. Band member Rusty Pinion (on the banjo) has built the Tula Opry. They play a mix of bluegrass (my all time favorite) and gospel, with the occasional old c&w thrown in for good measure.
Last night the Opry was packed with SRO by the time we got there and the guest band was already in full swing when we walked through the door. It is a quaint little place, with a stage reminiscent of the western shows out in New Mexico and Colorado that I have enjoyed during visits to Ruidoso and Dolores. The walls are decorated with the kind of memorabilia one would expect in a place called the "opry" and includes the vintage Lone Ranger guitar. (Photo courtesy of Randy's new iPhone with flash. My old iPhone just didn't cut it. :)
We enjoyed a couple of hours of music, I saw a former student who is visiting her parents for a few weeks, and got to hold her new 7 month old baby girl. After intermission, we even got seats on the front row and I could feel the air conditioner! The young man (I'm guessing around 8 or so) sitting next to me proudly informed me the woman singing was his grandmother, and that "Muleskinner" was his favorite song she sang.
It was a pleasant evening and as Rand and I drove back home, we talked about how it stirred memories of our childhood--going to musicals and gospel "singings" and in Rand's case, "Rock in the Park" summer.
The video is a collage of small pieces of the show, and of course, includes Muleskinner. Enjoy their next show on September 11, 6 p.m. A word to the wise: get there before 6.
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