Grand Ole Opry member Marty Stuart recently began taping the second season of The Marty Stuart Show, which pays homage to the finest musical traditions of the genre.

The 30-minute program is broadcast at 7 p.m. (Central) each Saturday on cable’s RFD-TV, a rural lifestyle network, with studios based in Music City.

Each week, musician-historian Stuart, along with his country-star wife, Connie Smith, plays host to some ferociously good country pickin' and singin’, with a dash of humor thrown in, thanks to banjo player Leroy Troy.

“I love this show,” Stuart says. “It represents everything that I cherish about traditional country music. I’ve fallen head over heels all over again with rhinestones, love songs, train songs, gospel songs, fancy pickin’ and the steel guitar. I’ve always believed God made Saturday nights for country music. This show is a natural for Saturday night.”

Not long ago, this writer braved the freezing cold to take in a Monday taping at NorthStar Studios, and not only were all treated to an energetic live show, but everyone got to spy celebrity-audience member Carol Lee Cooper, who’s gorgeous and gracious as ever, and blessed to be the only daughter of bluegrass-based country music legends Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper.

Many country fans know Carol Lee has served as the lead singer of The Carol Lee Singers, the back-up group for every artist who’s played on the stage of the Mother Church of Country Music.

Needless to say, the presence of “Miss Carol” in the audience was a real boon for studio members this particular January day, and also a much-welcomed event for Stuart and company. In fact, the lead/rhythm guitarist for Stuart’s band, The Fabulous Superlatives, was so taken with the lovely Miss Carol that he penned a song in her honor and played it with beaucoup conviction.

It’s not often that fans see long-legged, six-stringer Kenny Vaughan, a.k.a. “Cousin Kenny,” hatless in his sequined suits, but his view of Carol Lee on the front row caused him to lose his fancy cowboy hat—something viewers of The Marty Stuart Show should be able to see firsthand on an upcoming episode.

In the meantime, to learn more about the hit show, with its focus on traditional country, bluegrass and gospel that beckons back to the days of The Porter Wagoner Show, access The Marty Stuart Show page here.

By Lisa L. Rollins