Connie Smith and Marty Stuart Cancel Opry Appearance Due to COVID

Connie Smith’s 60th anniversary Grand Ole Opry celebration has been postponed due to illness.

Smith’s team shared the news on her official social media accounts, revealing that a new date will be announced soon.

“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,” the statement reads. “We look forward to rescheduling this soon and also listening to the wonderful lineup of folks performing tomorrow night!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Connie Smith (@realconniesmith)

The Opry also confirmed the news, revealing that both Connie Smith and her husband, Marty Stuart, have come down with COVID.

“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,” the Opry shared. “Marty will also be rescheduling his concert planned for this Saturday in Louisville. Meanwhile, the Wednesday Night Opry will continue, and we hope you can join us. We love you, Connie and Marty!”

While Smith and Stuart won’t be in attendance, the evening will still feature an impressive roster of performers. Vince Gill, The Whites, Sierra Ferrell, The Isaacs, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mandy Barnett, Dailey & Vincent, John Conlee, and Riders in the Sky are all scheduled to take the stage.

Connie Smith was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on August 21, 1965, after making her debut on July 18, 1964. She dreamed of performing on the Opry stage since she was a young girl and has been performing there for decades. Roy Acuff, the “King of Country Music,” honored Connie with the title “Sweetheart of the Grand Ole Opry.” 

Connie Smith shot to stardom with her debut single, “Once a Day,” which made history as the first debut single by a female country artist to hit No. 1. The song spent an impressive eight weeks at the top of the charts and earned a Grammy nomination. She went on to score several more hits, including “I Can’t Remember,” “Nobody but a Fool,” “Ain’t Had No Lovin’,” and “Cincinnati, Ohio.”

Smith is married to fellow Opry member, Marty Stuart. They tied the knot on July 8, 1997.