Vince Neil has made his live debut at the Grand Ole Opry for some reason

Vince Neil onstage at the Grand Ole Opry
(Image credit: Grand Ole Opry)

Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil has taken advantage of a break in the Stadium Tour schedule to make a guest appearance at iconic Nashville venue the Grand Ole Opry House.

Introduced by host Bill Cody as an "international superstar, accomplished businessman, heartfelt philanthropist" whose "unmistakable voice led the greatest rock songs of a generation", Neil joined the house band to perform covers of Crue's 1985 hit Home Sweet Home and Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) from 1989's Dr Feelgood album.

Joining Neil on backing vocals for the short set was Cherish Lee, the daughter of country legend Johnny Lee – writer of the classic Lookin' For Love – and actress Charlene Tilton, best known for her role as Lucy Ewing in the much-loved TV soap Dallas.

"I moved to Tennessee seven years ago," said Neil from the stage, keen to emphasise his local connections. "And I live in Franklin out by Leiper's Fork, and I see some friends and family out here, and I want to thank you guys for coming out. This is really a chilling thing / place to be standing up here, you know."

While the Grand Ole Opry is associated almost entirely with country music – inducted members include Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris – the Opry has a tradition of inviting artists from other genres to make guest appearances. In 2015, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler announced his solo country album We're All Somebody From Somewhere from the stage at Opry.  

The Stadium Tour, which also features Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett and Classless Act, picks up again this Friday at Fenway Park in Boston, MA. Full dates below.

The Stadium Tour 2022

Aug 05: Boston Mass Fenway Park, MA
Aug 06: Boston Mass Fenway Park, MA
Aug 08: Toronto Rogers Centre, ON
Aug 10: Orchard Park Highmark Stadium, NY
Aug 12: Pittsburgh PNC Park, PA
Aug 14: Minneapolis U.S. Bank Stadium, MI
Aug 16: Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium, IN
Aug 19: Houston Minute Maid Park, TX
Aug 21: San Antonio Alamodome, TX
Aug 22: Arlington Globe Life Field, TX
Aug 25: Glendale State Farm Stadium, AZ
Aug 27: Inglewood SoFi Stadium, CA
Aug 28: San Diego Petco Park, CA
Aug 31: Seattle T-Mobile Park, WA
Sep 02: Vancouver BC Place, BC
Sep 04: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, AB
Sep 07: San Francisco Oracle Park, CA
Sep 09: Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium, NV

Tickets are on sale now.

Fraser Lewry

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.