Steve Earle is about to join country music’s most venerable institution. The legendary singer-songwriter received an invite to join the Grand Ole Opry during his performance Saturday night on the Opry stage. He’s the first person to receive a new membership invite since the Opry launched its Opry100 centennial celebration this year.

After Earle’s performance of “Copperhead Road,” his friend Vince Gill emerged to present him with an Opry-branded guitar strap. After applause, Gill sprung another surprise on Earle: “You have to be an Opry member to have one of these. We want to invite you to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.” A visibly moved Earle replied, “This is kind of the biggest thing that has ever happened to me in my life.” He’ll be officially inducted later this year.

Opry membership may be his greatest honor to date, but Earle, 70, has piled up the accolades throughout his career. The Americana titan has won three Grammys, each for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. His highest-charting hit, 1988’s “Copperhead Road,” was made an official state song of Tennessee in 2023.

Earle looms large over the world of alt-country and Americana. The Texas-raised artist was mentored by icons like Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, and his songs have been performed by fellow legends like Gill, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Percy Sledge, Bob Seger, and Patty Loveless. He has also produced classic albums such as Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, written a novel (2011’s I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive) and short story collection (2003’s Dog House Roses), served as the musical director of the 2020 play Coal Country, and acted in acclaimed TV series The Wire and Treme.

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