Danae Hays Manifested Her Opry Debut—Now She’s Living Out Her Dream
“It just feels like something that I’ve idolized in my head for so long is now minutes away…”
Danae Hays; Photo by Chris Hollo, Courtesy Grand Ole Opry
On Tuesday, March 4, comedian Danae Hays fulfilled a lifelong dream when she stepped into the coveted circle at the Grand Ole Opry to make her Opry debut.
“It is a dream come true,” Hays admits while chatting with Country Now backstage in her dressing room.
Almost two years ago, before she had even tried stand-up, she wrote down her dream of performing on the Opry stage. At the time, it felt like a long shot, but it’s as if she manifested it into reality.
“One of the things that I wrote down was I wanted to have a Grand Ole Opry debut for comedy. And I was like, this is a big lofty goal for somebody that’s never done standup before. And then shortly after I started, I started doing stand-up, and then we went on tour,” she recalls. “And so it just feels very surreal. It feels very euphoric. It just feels like something that I’ve idolized in my head for so long is now minutes away.”
Danae Hays may have only been doing stand-up for a year, but she was born to entertain. Growing up in the small town of Morris, Alabama, she turned the world into her stage.
“I was using the living room, pool parties, the roller rink…Anytime I could get a crowd, I was working it,” she says. “And then finally I got enough courage to be like, ‘You know what? Why don’t we actually go and see if we can do comedy in front of people?’”
After deciding to take a leap of faith and try stand-up for the first time, Hays realized she wasn’t meant to take the traditional stand-up route.
“I have characters that people have fallen in love with and that I love to do, and I have music. So I like to think of my show as a one woman show or a variety show where it’s southern storytelling, it’s music and its characters,” she explains.
Danae Hays’ stand-up has been a huge success—her first tour is completely sold out, and more dates are in the works. However, fans can expect a slightly different experience on tour compared to her Opry performance, where she had to keep things a bit cleaner. She admits it was a “challenge” to adjust her show for the iconic stage.
“I’m not like an X-rated comic by any means, but I like to be colorful on stage and say whatever comes to mind. And I’ve had to remind myself, there’s a decorum here at the Opry and people bring their kids, and so we need to make sure that when they leave, it felt family friendly,” she shares. “But it was a challenge and it’s made me think of my set in a different light, and I love a good challenge.”
While working on her bit, she looked to her dad for his opinion on whether her jokes were suitable for the Opry stage.
“He gave me the thumbs up on a few. He gave me the thumbs down on a few too. So hopefully those don’t slip up and come out anyways,” she laughs.
Her dad was in the audience, along with her stepmom, grandmother and a “ton of friends” when she stepped onto the stage. She said she managed to keep her emotions under wraps leading up to the show, but afterward, all bets were off.
“My dad’s already cried several times and I’m like, ‘Dad, you can’t do it in front of me right now. I don’t know if this is waterproof mascara!’ I was like, ‘I got to be dialed in. Cry afterwards and we will go hit someplace up and we’ll cry together.”
Hays crushed her Opry debut, filling the pews with laughter with her signature humor. She delivered jokes about small-town life, growing up in church, and a hilarious take on genealogy, complete with a comedic song called “23 and Me.” It may have been her first time on the Opry stage, but it’s clear it won’t be her last.
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
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