Branson headliner performs at Wylie Opry

Texas Country Music Hall of Famer Clay Cooper took to the Wylie Opry stage Saturday, Aug. 2, along with his sons, Colt, left, and Caden. A Wylie native, Cooper started his career at the Opry at age 13. He now owns a venue in Branson, Missouri, where he performs multiple times a week alongside his sons and wife, Tina. Sonia Duggan/The Wylie News

It was a packed house Saturday night at the Wylie Opry as patrons gathered to watch a hometown star return to the stage where his career began — and bring his two sons along for the ride.

Clay Cooper, a Texas Country Music Hall of Famer and longtime Branson entertainer, performed alongside his sons, Colt and Caden, in an impromptu six-song set backed by the Opry’s Texas Legend Band.

“They came to visit me during a show about six or eight months ago and they just fell in love with the place,” said LeGrant Gable, owner of the Wylie Opry and a longtime friend and mentor to Cooper. 

Last weekend, Cooper called Gable and said, “Hey, the boys want to sing where their daddy started out,” to which Gable replied, “Get on down here.”

Now one of the most well-known variety show performers in Branson, Cooper headlines a family-style production nearly 20 times a week. Colt and Caden, now 21 and 16, perform regularly with their father at the Clay Cooper Theatre, alongside their mother, Tina, who sings and dances in the show.

Cooper said the last-minute trip to Wylie was possible because his Branson theater was dark this week, and he wanted to spend time with family in Texas. His daughter, Cassidy, lives in Plano, and much of his extended family — including his mother, aunt, and several longtime friends — attended Saturday’s show.

“This is like a flashback from the past,” Cooper said. “I haven’t performed here since ’87 or ’88.”

The Wylie Opry has always held a special place in the family’s story.

Born and raised in Wylie, Cooper lived on Jackson Street before moving to Branson at 16 to pursue a music career. His father, Jerry, was one of the original members of the Wylie Opry band, and Clay took his first steps toward stardom on the Opry stage at age 13.

“It’s amazing to me that when he first started out here, there wasn’t enough power in my soundboard to get him loud enough to hear him,” Gable said. “And now he’s got such a deep, rich voice — it’s just amazing the person that he’s become … the entertainer he’s become.”

The evening drew not only Wylie Opry regulars, but longtime fans of Cooper’s Branson show — including a couple from Denton who made the drive after hearing he would be performing in Wyli

“We’ve got a lot of people that are now regulars that heard about the Wylie Opry from the Clay Cooper Show,” Gable said to Cooper on stage. “Thank you for being so nice to our people.”

Cooper heads to Carthage this weekend, where he will emcee and perform at the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame’s annual induction ceremony. This year’s inductees include legendary acts Asleep at the Wheel and Johnny Horton.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame himself in 2023, alongside the late K.T. Oslin.

For Gable, who still runs the show every weekend — and operates one of the last remaining weekly Opry-style venues in Texas — the night was a reminder of the Opry’s roots.

“We play old traditional country music and there’s just not that many people who want to hear that anymore,” he said. “They’re more into the modern stuff.”

Still, the Wylie Opry continues to host traditional country music shows every Saturday and free gospel shows on Friday nights. Known for its down-home family environment, the venue is also where many young artists get their first shot at performing live with a band — just like Clay Cooper once did.

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By Sonia Duggan | sduggan@csmediatexas.com