Why This Country Star Says His 6-Year-Old Son Is “Banned” From the Grand Ole Opry

There have been more than a few hit singers who got the chance to watch their children follow in their footsteps. Just to name a few, there was Willie Nelson and Lukas Nelson, Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash, Waylon Jennings and Shooter Jennings, and Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus. For Rhett Akins, he never expected his children to dream of life on the road and stage. Yet, that’s exactly what Thomas Rhett did. And now, it seems that his youngest, Brody, might have the country bug. But he will have to wait, as he was apparently “banned” from the Grand Ole Opry. 

Any singer who hopes to leave their mark on country music knows the importance of the Opry. A major milestone for any singer, the Opry has offered a stage that helped launch the careers of countless country music icons. And Akins never forgot when he brought Brody on stage to sing with him. 

Speaking with Country Now, Akins admitted, “We’ve had to ban him from the Opry so far. He used to come out and sing with me a few times. And the last time he had a little meltdown on stage. And so we’re having to retrain him for the Opry right now, but hopefully he’ll get it back together.”  

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Rhett Akins Called The Grand Ole Opry To Apologize For Son

A kid having a meltdown isn’t anything new for experienced parents, but having it happen on the stage at the Opry is an entirely different level of embarrassment. And to make it worse, Akins called the Senior Vice President at the Opry, Dan Rogers, to apologize. “I was like, ‘Dan, don’t ever have me back. Seriously.’ I’m so sorry. But he goes, ‘Buddy, that’s the least of our worries because we’ve seen so much more than that.’ He goes, ‘We ain’t worried about that at all.’” 

While Brody will surely make his way back to the stage in the near future, Akins wanted to take a little more time with the six-year-old before introducing him to the crowd once again. 

Although a good idea, Akins knew that he couldn’t keep his children away from the spotlight for too long. “I never pushed my kids to do music or anything, but Thomas Rhett could not stay off the stage when he was five years old. He wanted to be out there and now my little boy doing the exact same thing.” 

Given Rhett’s path, Akins has already seen how quickly a childhood fascination with music can turn into a career. And judging by Brody’s enthusiasm, history might be repeating itself. 

(Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

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