Published July 09, 2026
Niall Horan has come a long way, from auditioning to be on X Factor in 2010 to now playing at the Grand Ole Opry.
After he made his debut at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry on Wednesday, July 7, the former One Direction star took to Instagram to celebrate the major milestone.
“Such an honour to make my debut at the grand ole opry last night!” the 32-year-old wrote alongside pictures from the big night. “I never could’ve imagined i’d ever get the call to do this, what a dream come true,” he added.
“Thank you to the @opry team for having me and to my pal @thomasrhettakins for joining me on stage! I can’t wait for the two of us to play geodis park together tomorrow x,” Horan concluded.
Horan was joined by country star Thomas Rhett before the pair kicked off their limited stadium shows on July 9 at GEODIS Park in Nashville and July 18 at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey.
Addressing the crowd at the Grand Ole Opry, Horan admitted he was nervous.
“Hello, Grand Ole Opry! I can’t believe I’m here. Um, this is — I’m shaking,” he said onstage. “This is pretty amazing. I’ve been very lucky enough to have done some amazing things in the last 15 years of my career, but little did I know that one day I would end up here in the circle at the Grand Ole Opry.”