Mark Wills

Mark Wills plays the Grand Ole Opry House on Friday, November 6, as part of the Opry's 100th anniversary celebrations. He's a member of the Grand Ole Opry, so this is home turf for him.

Wills built his career on story songs, the kind of country that leans on a good narrative. He put his name on the map in the late '90s and early '00s with hits like "19 Somethin'", "Wish You Were Here", "Jacob's Ladder", and "I Do (Cherish You)". "19 Somethin'" remains his biggest hit to date: RIAA Gold-certified and a six-week No. 1 in 2003. He's a Georgia native who got his start singing at Atlanta's Buckboard, and since then he's released seven albums and charted 19 Billboard Hot Country Songs singles. "Jacob's Ladder", released on Mercury Nashville in May 1996, was the first of eight Top 10 hits. In 1998, he won an Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Male Vocalist.

Beyond the charts, he's spent a good deal of time performing for U.S. troops, with more than a dozen trips to Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Korea, and Italy. He released the patriotic album Looking for America in 2011. When he talks about who shaped his sound, he points to George Jones, Merle Haggard, Alabama, and Ronnie Milsap—names that place him squarely in the traditional country camp.

The show is on Friday, November 6, at 9:30 PM CST at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.