Chris Janson Got a Congratulatory Call From Luke Bryan After Surprise Opry Invitation

Dustin Lynch and Craig Morgan also reached out to celebrate Janson's moment.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Chris Janson Got a Congratulatory Call From Luke Bryan After Surprise Opry Invitation
Chris Janson; Photo credit: Chris Hollo for the Grand Ole Opry

To say getting invited to become a member of Grand Ole Opry was exciting is an understatement in Chris Janson’s world.

During one of his recent appearances at the iconic country music venue, Keith Urban joined Janson on stage for what he believed to be an impromptu duet. Out of the blue, Urban extended the offer to claim membership and Janson could not believe the news to the point where he just started jumping up for joy.

The moment made an everlasting impression in Janson’s mind, much bigger than any No. 1 hit or tour accomplishment he’s earned before.

“I think as a singer, you can envision yourself maybe having a No. 1 hit, or anything like that, but it’s hard to kind of fathom membership to the Opry. So you sort of put it in the back of your mind—at least I did—you kind of compartmentalize it and thought, ‘If it ever happens, that’s awesome, it probably won’t.’ It’s a pretty esteemed group of people, and it’s a small group of really big names, and so we’ve talked about it many times,” Janson revealed to Sounds Like Nashville and other media recently.

Not only did the invitation mean the world to Janson, but other people from the country genre reached out immediately to the “Buy Me a Boat” singer to express how thrilled they were for him as well to accept the honor.

“To put in perspective of how big a deal it is to me, and to other artists, the first phone call I got the next morning at 8:00 was Luke Bryan,” Janson said. “He was home with his kids, doing the dad thing, and called and said, ‘Buddy, do you know how big that is?’ And I said, ‘Yes I do. I totally get it.’ That says a lot for not only Luke, but it says a lot for The Grand Ole Opry, and you know, it means a lot. Second call was Dustin Lynch, third call Craig Morgan, fourth call, John Conlee. I mean, I will never forget those type of things. Opry members and non-Opry members alike have been very awesome about it. It’s definitely a gigantic career highlight.”

When Janson isn’t at the Opry, he’s out on tour playing shows across the country. He currently holds a slot on Cole Swindell’s Reason to Drink Tour and will hop on a summer run with Jake Owen later this year. More information can be found through his website.