The Grand Ole Opry’s biggest challenge is balancing its heritage acts with country’s newest stars, but that issue becomes a little easier as the longest-running radio show in history adds a Thursday-night Opry Country Classics show to its schedule next spring.

The program will distinguish itself from broadcasts on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights by sticking to familiar oldies — some of them performed by the original artists, some of them covers by current performers.

"I was raised in Mississippi, where we were immersed in the blues, rock n’ roll, and jazz, but it was the country music I heard that touched my heart," Opry member Marty Stuart says. "The sounds beaming from that 650 WSM signal seemed to beckon me to Nashville. I’m looking forward to performing some of those same great, timeless songs for country fans on Thursdays next year."

The Classics show will be introduced March 26, but — like the Tuesday shows — it will not be on the Opry calendar every week. Initial plans have Thursdays blocked out for the Opry at the Grand Ole Opry House from March 26 through June 18, and again from Sept. 10 through Oct. 29. Tuesday performances run March through mid-December.