Keith Whitley to be celebrated by Garth Brooks, more, at October Opry event

Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

2022 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Keith Whitley's modern-era renaissance continues as the Grand Ole Opry will honor the "Don't Close Your Eyes" vocalist with a special event on Oct. 14, 2023.

Bittersweetly nestled among his many achievements is that he was to have been surprised in the spring of 1989 with the realization of one of his greatest dreams:

Whitley's May 9, 1989, passing occurred just three weeks before his learning that he was to have become an Opry member.

Keith Whitley's modern-era renaissance continues as the Grand Ole Opry honors the "Don't Close Your Eyes" vocalist on Oct. 14, 2023.
Keith Whitley's modern-era renaissance continues as the Grand Ole Opry honors the "Don't Close Your Eyes" vocalist on Oct. 14, 2023.

"Keith Whitley made an indelible mark on country music and our Opry family," said Opry vice president and executive producer, said Dan Rogers. Week after week, those who knew him still talk about him in our backstage hallways and many of those who have come along in the 34 years since his passing cite him as a key influence on their musical styles. It's going to be a great night of music as we bring several of those artists together to recall one of the greatest voices to have taken the Opry stage."

In two shows -- at 7 and 9:30 p.m. CT -- performances and remembrances from Whitley's widow Lorrie Morgan and his son Jesse Keith Whitley, Opry member and Country Music Hall of Famer Garth Brooks, plus Opry members Terri Clark and Ashley McBryde, among many, will occur.

Tickets for the event are available at https://www.opry.com/show/2023-10-14-grand-ole-opry-at-7-pm.

During his induction- into the Country Music Hall of Fame, its adjoining museum's CEO, Kyle Young, noted that the Sandy Hook, Kentucky native's abbreviated country music career was highlighted by the "depth, richness, and maturity" in his vocal performances that conveyed "deep emotional investments in song." He added that these qualities bore similarities to his bluegrass hero, Lefty Frizzell, plus George Jones and Merle Haggard.

Brooks added that the "I'm No Stranger To The Rain" vocalist had "a voice that was better than 99% of singers" and was the "greatest, most unbelievable voice ever to grace country music."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Keith Whitley to be celebrated by Garth Brooks, more, at October Opry event