Rhett Akins is officially a member of the Grand Ole Opry!

The “That Ain’t My Truck” hitmaker celebrated his 57th birthday on the historic stage on Tuesday night (October 13) in Nashville, Tennessee. His son, Thomas Rhett, did the honors of opening the curtain to kick off his father’s induction night. Fellow Opry members Jamey Johnson and Jon Pardi formally inducted Akins, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member and the Academy of Country Music’s Songwriter of the Decade. Rhett joined his father on stage that evening, along with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and more.

“This is the greatest night of my life,” Akins said, per a press release issued following the induction. He began the event with his 1996 song, “Don’t Get Me Started,” and continued the evening with artists who have recorded some of the biggest songs throughout his career.

Akins and Pardi performed “Dirt On My Boots,” which Pardi debuted in 2016. He also teamed up with Johnson on “Ramblin Fever” by Merle Haggard, with Bryan on “I Don’t Want This Night to End” and “Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day,” son Rhett on “What’s Your Country Song,” and more. The Grand Ole Opry shared clips on its Instagram story of Rhett performing “Half Of Me,” a No. 1 song written with his father, and a father-son rendition of 2021’s “What’s Your Country Song.” Rhett also took the stage with two songs he wrote for Blake Shelton, “Honey Bee” and “I Lived It.”

“Rhett Akins, you are now a member of the Grand Ole Opry,” Johnson said at the end of the evening. He added, with a joke, “Congratulations. It couldn’t have happened to a better guy ... but it did. It happened to me.”

The lineup joined Akins on stage to perform his iconic ‘90s anthem, “That AIn’t My Truck,” and to sing “Happy Birthday” to the newest Opry member.

Pardi surprised Akins with an invitation to become an Opry member over the summer. Rhett had a sweet reaction to his father’s latest career milestone.

“I don’t have many words except for the fact that my dad has had a dream to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry since he was boy,” he wrote in a caption on Instagram at the time. “He is a country music encyclopedia. There may be people out there that know it and have studied it extensively, but for people I know directly in my life, my dad knows it and loves it more (than) anyone I’ve ever known. He’s such a purist with music. He misses the days that people listened to records all the way through and didn’t just listen to the 20 second tik tok clip. He lives and breathes Hank sr, Merle haggard, Waylon Jennings and all the above. Dad I’m so proud of you. I love you. You deserve this! Can’t wait to celebrate this huge accomplishment.”

Scroll below to see photos from Akins’ Opry induction.

Christina Martinez

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