IT WASN’T SCRIPTED — REBA DROPPED TO HER KNEES ON THE BIGGEST STAGE OF HER CAREER. Blinding stage lights usually obscure an artist’s view, but last night, Reba saw only one person. Midway through performing “Fancy,” she suddenly signaled the band to cut the music. She walked down the steps toward a silver-haired woman sitting in a wheelchair in the front row — her mother, the woman who once sold eggs just to buy her daughter’s first guitar. Reba pressed her forehead against her mother’s; two heads touching, one fiery red, the other weathered white. The microphone was still on, and the trembling sound that followed wasn’t a song, but a heartbreaking confession…

The lights at the Grand Ole Opry are blinding. They are designed to make you forget the world outside, to transport you into a realm of melody and rhythm. For […]