Little Big Town joins the Grand Ole Opry

NASHVILLE — Fifteen years ago, the four members of Little Big Town gave their first public performance on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

"We literally knew three songs," Kimberly Schlapman said Saturday night, as she and fellow members Jimi Westbrook, Karen Fairchild and Phillip Sweet became the newest members of the long-running radio show.

"It feels like the biggest moment in our lives, our careers," Sweet said.

Two weeks ago, Reba McEntire offered a surprise onstage invitation to the Grammy-winning vocal quartet, whose hits include Pontoon and Day Drinking.

During Saturday's Opry show, Vince Gill and Little Jimmy Dickens, the Opry's oldest member at 93, welcomed the group into the show's cast, and they received video well-wishes from fellow members Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and the Oak Ridge Boys.

"You'll be so be blessed by the friends you'll make out here, and they'll last your entire life," Gill told the group, which will release its sixth album, Pain Killer, Tuesday. "Welcome to the family, and remember to come here as often as you can."

Little Big Town sang three songs, starting with Bring It on Home and its breakthrough 2005 single Boondocks. After a formal induction ceremony, the group asked Gill to join them and close the show by singing Kris Kristofferson's Why Me, Lord.

The Opry has been a country music institution since launching on WSM-AM in November 1925. The current cast features several dozen members, including Alison Krauss, Blake Shelton, Charlie Daniels, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks and Loretta Lynn.

"It does feel like a family here," Sweet said from the stage. "You make us feel that way.

"We don't ever want to lose that. In fact, we want to actually lift that up and nurture that and hold that candle high. This is something we really hold dear in our hearts."