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By Shannon Sturgis Three fiddlers rehearse for the opening weekend of the Mid-South Opry in Conway. + Enlarge

By Shannon Sturgis Country singer Dixie Harrison is co-owner of the Mid-South Opry in Conway. She will perform this weekend at the opry's grand ... + Enlarge

CONWAY — Cathleen Harrison and her daughter Dixie are hoping to put a stop to the musical acts traveling through Arkansas from Nashville to Oklahoma City.

Literally.

They're opening the Mid-South Opry along Interstate 40 in Conway to give a stage to performers traversing the 600 miles between Tennesee's Grand Ole Opry and Oklahoma City's opry house.

To do that, the new opry house venue, opening this weekend, is conveniently located a few blocks from the interstate.

The Mid-South Opry will be located in a brand new brick building about two blocks from Conway's Target store and will be large enough to seat around 300. After opening weekend, performances are planned at the venue every Saturday night in addition to a free "gospel jubilee" on Sunday afternoons.

Cathleen's daughter Dixie, a regular on the country music circuit who has opened for George Jones and been involved in nearly every aspect of the business, will co-own the opry house with her cousin Raymond Keathley.

Dixie will book the shows, conduct auditions and handle the lighting and audio. Keathley will keep the facility running and maintain the grounds.

The opry house is not a first for Conway or Dixie Harrison. She owned and operated the Arkansas Opry but sold the property in 1989 after she met and married her husband and moved to Nashville.

"I feel like the Lord just gave it back to me bigger and better," she said.

The Mid-South Opry will be more than just a stage - it's a place to record music, a meeting house for songwriters and musicians, and a place where amateurs can hone the country music craft.

In short, Dixie wants the opry to be a hub for current and budding talent in the central Arkansas area.

"The facility is also available for bands to rent if they want to do a live recording from the stage," Dixie Harrison said.

"We're also going to have a writers night during the week where songwriters can come and debut their new songs and work on them with musicians.

"If they write music but not lyrics we'll put them with a writer."

Once those songs are finished, Harrison will even offer an outlet to get them recorded via her publishing companies.

In the meantime, Dixie Harrison is using her Nashville contacts to book artists that don't often play central Arkansas venues.

"We're in negotiations with several types of acts, but we can't bring in huge acts like Verizon Arena," she said. "It'll be people that don't normally go to the big arenas, but still big name people."

Until then, she's open to seeing all levels of talent in central Arkansas from experienced bands to music lovers who sing karaoke on the weekends, as long as they're willing to audition and keep their acts clean.

"If they've never worked with a band before, if they're a karaoke singer, we have people who can help them until they're professional enough to get on stage and entertain," she said.

"It's a family entertainment that they can bring their kids out to."

The shows:

Friday: The Mid-South Opry will hold an open house on Friday night featuring free food and entertainment starting at 7 p.m. Performers are Dixie Harrison, Victoria Schafer, Roy Croft. Three fiddle players, including Miss Arkansas USA Chanley Painter and much more.

Saturday: The same show from Friday, but tickets are $10.

Sunday: Gospel jubilee from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free admission. Emcee will be host of the Searcy-based radio show Down the Gospel Road.

Mid-South Opry

1611 Hwy. 64, Conway

(Exit 127, two blocks past the Target)

(501) 327-OPRY