Virginia’s “Lil Ole Opry” is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a lineup of shows featuring former Opry favorites. The first show, “All Star Opry,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, April 5, at Mathews High School and will include “faces from the past” Jeff Long and Wade Hall.

Long is a vocalist and recent past band member who played acoustic guitar and keyboards at the Opry for over 20 years, said a press release. He was also the keyboard player for Lynda Smith & Live Wire.

Hall, a Mathews native who plays banjo, was the only performer to ever win a Talent Search at the Opry as an instrumentalist, said the release. The year was 1984, and he was 14 years old. He immediately became a member of the Opry and performed for more than a decade.

Additional featured performers will be the house band, Shades of Country, as well as Ralph Motley, Lynda Smith, Richard Smith (drums), AJ McKeen, Tracy Hill, William Earl Sadler (keyboards), Susan Ripley, LeighAnn Abbott, David Shuber (bass guitar), Sam Hogge (lead guitar), Michael Gregg (fiddle), Faith Kemp, Shane Norris, and Mike McDevitt (lead guitar).

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under and are available at the Mathews Visitor and Information Center on Main Street and Marketplace Antiques on Route 17 in Hayes. They will also be available at the door starting at 6:30 p.m.

For more information, visit donkstheater.com. (See related story here.)