The Grand Ole Opry is a legendary country music venue which has been played by some of the greats of the genre. Ask any up-and-coming country star and they’ll tell you that to play the Grand Ole Opry Stage is a lifelong dream. One of those country singers is undoubtedly Josh Turner, a rising contemporary country singer who has released hits such as “Your Man” and “Long Black Train.”
After almost ten years of releasing #1 hit songs, Turner finally got his opportunity to play the Grand Ole Opry. And he took that opportunity, in the middle of a lifelong dream, to do one of the sweetest things we’ve ever seen.
As his set was closing, Turner announced to the audience that another performer would be joining him on stage – his wife’s 98-year-old grandma, Lois Cunningham.
“My wife’s 98-year-old grandmother, her name is Lois Cunningham,” Turner said to the crowd. “She’s gonna come out and play on the Grand Ole Opry stage for the very first time.”
That’s right. Josh Turner gave up some of his set time on Grand Ole Opry so his adorable grandmother-in-law could live out her dream of playing on this legendary stage. That is just about the most adorable thing ever.
Turner’s wife helped to escort her grandmother to the beautiful Grand piano on stage, where she sat and prepped her fingers over the keys. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting too much; I was a little too taken by the kind gesture to even think about what the music might sound like. But when this grandmother began to play, I felt my breath physically catch in my chest.
Her hands fly effortlessly over the keys as she played “How Great Thou Art” with all the skill of a professional musician. I wonder if she IS a professional musician? I wouldn’t be shocked if she was, based on this stellar performance.
The camera would occasionally zoom out, revealing Josh Turner and his band standing on stage in awe as Lois plays her beautiful song. And all along Lois has the sweetest little smile on her face! She’s obviously so thrilled to be getting the opportunity to fulfill her own dream of playing this epic venue. It just goes to show that even at 98, dreams can still come true.
But the best part of all is when Lois finishes her song and receives an amazing standing ovation. A well-deserved one, at that! At first, she looks totally shocked at the piano bench, maybe wondering if that actually just happened! But as she sees and hears the applause, she begins to wave to the audience, and even blows kisses to her new adoring fans!
Josh and his wife try to escort their grandmother off stage, but she wants to stay for the applause! Josh has to actually get out of her way so she can continue waving to the cheering crowd. Too cute.
Admit it, there is no way you don’t have chills watching this amazing video.
What did you think of this extraordinary performance by 98-year-old Lois Cunningham? Share your thoughts on this adorable video in the comments section below.