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On Friday, August 4th, independent country vocal powerhouse Abbey Cone will make her Grand Ole Opry Debut. Opry member and 22-time-GRAMMY-Award-winner Vince Gill surprised Cone with the invitation during his Opry performance on Friday (6.9) night, following his first-ever live performance of an unreleased song that Gill and Cone co-wrote, titled “Leaving Home.”
“I’m honestly still pretty in shock and finding it hard to put into words what this means to me,” says Abbey Cone. “I've spent damn near my whole life working towards this moment, and I couldn't be more grateful to be invited by my hero, Vince Gill. What an honor. If you know me, you know that I love nothing more than writing honest songs and singing my stories, but have recently experienced periods of self-doubt where I thought the Opry might never happen for me. I made some incredibly scary decisions in the past year, and have chosen to be an independent artist for this chapter of my career... so having the Opry (and Vince!!) believe in me and my music is absolutely unbelievable.”
See the emotional surprise via Abbey’s Instagram here
Cone – who debuted on Texas’ Grapevine Opry at age 9 – moved to Nashville when she was just 16. By her early twenties, Abbey was co-writing with some of Music City’s best-known songwriters (Lori McKenna, Heather Morgan, Jason Duke), and garnered national exposure in 2021 with her debut single, “Rhinestone Ring.” With an induction into CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2020 and named one of Pandora’s 10 Country Artists To Watch in 2022, she has already made her mark, touring with the likes of Tanya Tucker, Brittney Spencer, Abby Anderson, and the CMT Next Women Of Country Tour with Maddie & Tae.
This Spring, Cone shared her first single as an independent artist, “If You Were A Song.” The uplifting serenade illustrates a love letter for when words just aren’t enough, and landed her on the cover of Spotify's Fresh Finds Country, plus placements on Spotify's New Boots, Fresh Finds, Next From Nashville, and New Music Friday Country, and Apple Music's Sound Check and New In Country. CMT debuted the official video, calling it “all powerhouse femininity” – watch it here.
Cone’s Opry invitation capped her exciting CMA Fest week, where she performed at the Maui Jim Reverb Stage and at the Spotify House Fresh Finds Rooftop at Ole Red.
Photo Credit: Erika Rock
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