Dalton Dover was brought to tears when Blake Shelton surprised him with an invitation to make his Grand Ole Opry debut on Tuesday evening (Aug. 30).
While closing out his month-long residency at Shelton’s Ole Red bar in Downtown Nashville, Dover was shocked when the infamous red phone rang in the midst of his energy-filled, full band set. After a few rings Dover answered the call and Grand Ole Opry member Blake Shelton appeared on the screen behind him for what he thought was just a quick check-in on how things were going, however, that was not the case. In fact, Shelton called in to shock him with the invite of a lifetime, a moment he will never forget.
“Dalton Dover, what’re you doing buddy? I’ve just been sitting here with my secret ways of watching you perform man, sounds incredible as always,” Shelton gushed.
“Man, I’ve been great dude, just out here making fans at Old Red this last month, it’s been wild,” Dover told Shelton.
After catching up a bit and reminiscing on Dover’s journey on The Voice a few years back, Shelton shocked Dover with the invite of a lifetime.
“I didn’t want to interrupt your set, but I just wanted to call in and say hi to you and tell you congratulations on everything. Oh yeah, also, I was wantin’ to know what you’re doing on December the 3rd. Do you have plans?”
Dover, who was visibly confused at what was happening, then replied “mmm, no.”
Shelton then revealed, “Okay, well that’d be cool because we’d like to have you come perform at the Grand Ole Opry.”
Overcome with emotions, Dover then paused for a moment to wipe away the happy tears that streamed down his cheek as he was left speechless.
“I mean if you’re busy, it’s okay. If you’ve got other stuff, I know it’s the holidays,” Shelton said, as Dover then return to his microphone to reply to the country superstar. “I’ll be there, I promise,” Dover replied.
Shelton then congratulated Dover and recalled his first time playing the sacred institution.
“Well congratulations dude, I’ll never forget the first time I performed at the Grand Ole Opry. It literally… It sits up high on a shelf in my mind as probably the ultimate award that I’ve ever received and congratulations to you dude. That’s a milestone man. I think we got him crowd. I think he’s emotional.”
Before ending the call, Shelton told the Ole Red crowd to get their tickets for Dalton’s Opry debut.
“You guys all heard it, get your tickets now, it’s going to be Dalton’s debut at the Grand Ole Opry,” Shelton told the audience.
“Holy shit, y’all! Holy crap. I guess we gotta keep on singing,” Dover said in disbelief before exploding back into his electrifying performance in Music City.
The surprise served as a full-circle moment for Dover as in 2019, the fast-rising country star earned a chair turn with his stunning rendition of Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” during Season 16 of The Voice.
Dover recently turned heads with the release of his new song, “Hear About A Girl,” which was co-written by Adam Craig, Michael Carter and Jim McCormick. Throughout the tune, Dover croons over a girl who stopped him in his tracks and made him want to be a better man, however, in an unfortunate turn of events, their relationship goes south and he finds himself turning to alcohol with hopes to drown his sorrows.
“And then you hear about a girl you can’t get off your mind/ Drinking by yourself just trying to find/ A little bit of hope in the 90 proof/ That you’ll get over her ’cause she’s over you/ Yeah, you’ll hear about a girl that changed your life/ Just by saying hello, then saying goodbye/ You’d sure love to be throwin’ ’em back without a care in the world/ But you’ll hear about a girl,” the Georgia native sings on the chorus.
Listen to “Hear About A Girl” below.
Dover is also gearing up to release his new single “Damn Good Life,” which you can hear a snippet of HERE.
Dalton Dover will step into the iconic Opry circle on December 3 to make his Grand Ole Opry debut. For tickets to the show, visit opry.com.
Additionally, the Georgia native recently announced that he will be joining Priscilla Block this fall on her headlining trek, dubbed the Welcome To The Block Party Tour, which is set to kick off on October 13 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Super pumped to be joining @priscillablock on the •welcome to the block party tour• this October, it’s definitely bout to be a party I can’t wait to see y’all there! 👊🏽💙” Dover wrote on Instagram, celebrating the tour announcement.
See a full list of Dover’s tour dates with Priscilla Block below.
Oct. 13 Lori’s Road House Liberty Township, Ohio
Oct. 13 Jergel’s Warrendale, Penn.
Oct. 15 8 Seconds Saloon Indianapolis, Ind.
Oct. 20 Joe’s on Weed Chicago, Ill.
Oct. 22 Elevation at the Intersection Grand Rapids, MI
Oct. 26 Rick’s Café Starkville, Miss.
Oct. 27 Cotton Eyed Joes Knoxville, Tenn.
Oct. 28 Silverados Black Mountain, N.C.
Oct. 29 Rome River Jam Rome, Ga.
Nov. 3 Nashville Palace Nashville, Tenn.
Nov. 11 Bluestone Columbus, Ohio
Nov. 12 Boondock’s Springfield, Ill.
Nov. 17 Blue Room Statesboro, Ga.
Nov. 18 Blind Horse Saloon Greenville, S.C.
Nov. 19 Music Farm Charleston, S.C.
