Opry Entertainment Group has solidified its position as a pioneer in mainstream country music culture and live event hosting with its latest deal.
On January 14, Opry Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc., announced the acquisition of a “majority interest” in Southern Entertainment, a live events, hospitality and production company based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Among the portfolio of music festivals that Southern owns or promotes are the Quintet at Carolina Country Music Fest in Myrtle Beach, Barefoot Country Music Fest in Wildwood, New Jersey, Lovin’ Life Music Fest in Charlotte, Greenville Country Music Fest from South Carolina and the next Eric Church. And Field & Stream Music Fest, affiliated with Morgan Wallen in Winnsboro, South Carolina, launching in 2025.
In a press release, Patrick Moore, CEO of Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), noted that Southern Entertainment has become “one of the strongest independent festival companies in the United States” over the past decade.
“With this investment, we enter a dynamic and growing events sector with seasoned operators who share our passion for creating unforgettable experiences for artists and fans,” Moore said. “This investment will allow us to expand our reach to a broad and loyal fan base, complementary to our current audience.”
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Strategic growth of OEG and Ryman Properties in the country over the years
Over the past dozen years, strategic acquisitions and partnerships have made OEG and Ryman Properties a leader in the country music cultural space.
In 2012, Gaylord Entertainment sold the Gaylord Hotels brand and operations of its existing resorts to Marriott International while retaining ownership of the properties themselves. They then converted Gaylord’s corporate structure into a real estate investment trust, taking the name Ryman Hospitality.
Gaylord had previously acquired Opry sponsor and brand owner WSM, Inc. in 1983. This purchase gave Gaylord ownership of the Grand Ole Opry, WSM Radio and the company’s flagship property, the Opryland Hotel.
In 2017 and 2024, artist-as-brand partnerships with chart-topping country members of the Grand Ole Opry Blake Shelton and Luke Combs gave the former a sextet of “Ole Red” bars named after his single quarter-century-old hit, “Ol’ Rouge.” For the latter, it’s spawned a newly opened Combs-themed venue, Category 10, which replaces Ryman Properties’ former Wildhorse Saloon multi-level dance club, honky-tonk and restaurant.
Regarding performance venues, OEG and Ryman own the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium in Music City. Together, these entertainment spaces have a legacy of more than 200 years as the longest-running home of the century-old Grand Ole Opry radio and stage program. At the same time, the Ryman was renowned for hosting the Opry program from 1943 to 1974. When it was restored in 1994, it revived its indelible mark as the “Mother Church” of country music. The combined spaces host nearly 500 performances per year.
In 2022, Ryman Hospitality Properties also purchased Block 21 in Austin, Texas, which includes Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater, for approximately $260 million.
Southern Entertainment’s Growth in Live Events
Bob Durkin and Rob Pedlow co-founded Charlotte’s Southern Entertainment in 2015 and will continue to lead the company following their new deal with Ryman Hospitality and OEG.
“Joining forces with OEG will add immediate value to our existing events and allow us to accelerate our plans to bring festivals to new markets,” said the duo, who have helped clients with more than 200 events over the past year. of the last decade.
Southern Entertainment will integrate OEG’s artist development programs into its flagship country music festivals. Many of the nearly three dozen Grand Ole Opry members and performers newly inducted into the Opry’s NextStage Talent Development Program since 2020, they have performed at events that are clients of the Southern Entertainment festival in recent years.
OEG CEO Moore says one goal of additional partnerships between Southern Entertainment and OEG in the coming years is to deepen how festivals “engage in (artist development) at all levels.” phases of their career.
OEG’s growing cultural footprint expands in the media space
Add live events to the more than a dozen live events and outdoor activations now under the influence of Ryman and OEG, and more than three million fans will be directly impacted.
The partnership between Southern Entertainment and OEG only scratches the surface of the scale of the impact of Ryman Hospitality’s growth as a major player in national events and mainstream cultural influence.
Also, in April 2022NBCUniversal and private equity firm Atairos Group announced they would take a 30% stake in OEG. That involvement spawned the People’s Choice Country Music Awards broadcast on NBC and Peacock two years ago, seen by 3 million people nationwide, as well as Christmas events featuring Wynonna Judd and Little Big Town.
A year later, OEG made a minority investment in Whiskey Riff, a country music blog and brand founded in 2015. More than half of its viewers and millions of social media followers across various platforms are aged 18 at 44 years old.
Mark Fioravanti, chairman and CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties, told Billboard that Whiskey Riff’s strong digital branding “(has attracted) a younger demographic, (giving us) another way to connect our brands and artists that we support with younger fans.”