“Connie Smith and Marty Stuart VANISH from the Opry — Here’s the shocking reason fans can’t stop talking about!”
A whirlwind of news just hit the country music world that’s left fans stunned: the Grand Ole Opry’s celebration marking Connie Smith’s 60th anniversary as a member has been abruptly postponed. Even more surprising, both Connie Smith and her husband, country legend Marty Stuart, have canceled their appearances due to a serious health matter.
According to Country Now, the special event scheduled for the evening of August 20 was canceled at the eleventh hour when Connie and Marty came down with COVID‑19. Connie’s team released a statement on her social media: “Unfortunately, the special evening at the Grand Ole Opry planned for tomorrow night celebrating Connie Smith’s 60 years as an Opry member is postponed. We look forward to rescheduling this soon and also listening to the wonderful lineup of folks performing tomorrow night!”.
The Opry itself confirmed: “Though we were so excited to celebrate 60 years of Grand Ole Opry membership with the great Connie Smith tomorrow night, Connie and her husband Marty Stuart must cancel their appearances on the show due to, as Marty said, ‘the unwelcome presence of COVID in our home.’ We will look forward to celebrating Connie’s 60th with her (and with Marty by her side) on a future date to be announced soon”.
Moreover, Marty Stuart had to postpone his concert planned in Louisville this coming weekend .
Despite the absence of these country icons, the Opry’s Wednesday night show went on with an impressive lineup: Vince Gill, The Whites, Sierra Ferrell, The Isaacs, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mandy Barnett, Dailey & Vincent, John Conlee, and Riders in the Sky.
A bit of history: Connie Smith was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on August 21, 1965, just a year after her debut in 1964. She earned the affectionate title “Sweetheart of the Grand Ole Opry,” courtesy of country music legend Roy Acuff.
Her breakout hit, “Once a Day,” made history as the first debut single by a female country artist to reach No. 1, and it stayed there for eight weeks. The song also snagged a Grammy nomination and paved the way for further hits like “Nobody but a Fool,” “Ain’t Had No Lovin’,” and “Cincinnati, Ohio”.
Marty Stuart, her husband, is himself a respected Opry member. The couple married in 1997 after years of musical collaboration.
This postponement is a major letdown given the emotional weight of the milestone—but it also underscores a sobering reality: that even country legends aren’t immune to COVID. Fans have already flooded social media with wishes for a speedy recovery. When Connie and Marty return, the rescheduled celebration already promises to be even more memorable.