Ashland Craft at Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a country music concert and radio show, held between twice and five times per week, in Nashville, Tennessee. The show began as a radio barn dance on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay and has since become one of the genre's most enduring and revered stages. Each performance consists of multiple guest artists as well as Opry members, sometimes called "Opry stars". Members are selected by Opry management based on several factors including critical and commercial success, respect for the history of country music and commitment to appearing on the program. Opry members have permission to perform at any Opry show they wish. A typical Opry performance will feature seven to nine artists, including at least three members.

The Oak Ridge Boys is an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The four-part harmonies and upbeat songs of band has spawned dozens of country hits and a #1 pop smash, earning them Grammy, Dove, CMA and ACM awards, and garnering a host of other industry and fan accolades. The group was founded in 1943 as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was changed to The Oak Ridge Boys in the early 1960s, and they remained a gospel group until the mid-1970s, when they changed their image and concentrated on country music. The lineup that produced their most well-known country and crossover hits ― such as "Elvira" (1981), "Bobbie Sue" (1982), and "American Made" (1983) ― consists of Duane Allen (lead vocals), William Lee Golden (baritone), Richard Sterban (bass), and, until his 2024 death, Joe Bonsall (tenor). Golden and Allen joined the group in the mid-1960s, and Sterban and Bonsall joined in the early 1970s. Golden was removed from the group in 1987 and replaced by Steve Sanders until 1995, when he left and Golden rejoined. Ben James replaced Bonsall on tenor vocals in 2024, just before Bonsall's death from complications of ALS. The group was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

Mark Wills is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label – Mark Wills, Wish You Were Here, Permanently, Loving Every Minute, and And the Crowd Goes Wild – as well as a greatest hits package. In that same timespan, he charted sixteen singles on the Billboard country charts, all of which made the top 40. After leaving Mercury in 2003, he signed to Equity Music Group and charted three more singles. Two of these were later included on his sixth studio album, Familiar Stranger, which was released on the Tenacity label in 2008.