Rhonda Vincent Invited to Join the Grand Ole Opry [WATCH]

Rhonda Vincent will become the newest Grand Ole Opry member in late March. The bluegrass star received an invitation to join the hallowed country music institution on Friday night (Feb. 28), during a show at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Vincent was surprised with her Opry invitation by Jeannie Seely, after performing a song that Seely co-wrote, "Like I Could." Vincent was so taken aback by the news that she asked Seely twice if she was serious.

"Absolutely, 100 percent," Vincent replied when Seely asked her if she'd like to join the Opry. "Oh my gosh! I grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry."

Vincent has been playing music since the age of five, when she began performing with her family's band, the Sally Mountain Show. She started out on drums but, a few years later, learned the mandolin, and then, a couple years after that, the fiddle. Performances with Jim Ed Brown led to a deal with Rebel Records, and then a deal with Giant Nashville.

Vincent released her first album with Rounder Records in 2000, the same year in which she won her first of seven International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year trophies. She earned the IBMA's Entertainer of the Year award in 2001.

“Throughout her award-winning career, Rhonda has always made time to visit us at the Opry,” says Opry Vice President and Executive Producer Dan Rogers. “She is a force of nature onstage, and a friend to fellow artists and fans alike behind the scenes. Her songs have a home among the many styles of music we celebrate at the Opry for the rest of her career.”

Vincent will officially join the Grand Ole Opry on March 24. She follows Gene Watson into the organization.

The Grand Ole Opry Through the Years