‘It was the best night ever.’ Mississippi’s Chapel Hart wows Grand Ole Opry after AGT
They were still buzzing from their weekend debut at the Grand Ole Opry when South Mississippi’s own Chapel Hart talked to the Sun Herald Monday.
“We had the best night ever,” said Devynn Hart. She and her sister Danica Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle stepped onto the Grand Ole Opry stage Saturday — just four days after finishing in the Top 5 of America’s Got Talent — and gave a fun, heartfelt, unforgettable performance.
They sang three songs. The audience gave them three standing ovations. And the trio from Poplarville in South Mississippi was invited back Oct. 8 for the Grand Ole Opry’s 97th birthday celebration.
Their appearance in the finals of AGT, their song with country star Darius Rucker and their Grand Ole Opry appearance all came during Chapel Hart week, as proclaimed in their hometown of Poplarville and Pearl River County. It’s a week of love the girls said they hope will continue every year.
“I think it’s even more incredible because even though the proclamation was made in South Mississippi, we had fans literally around the world celebrating our week,” Swindle said.
“We just never imagined that in such a short period of time all of these amazing things would happen,” Devynn said.
“The last few months have actually been incredible, mind blowing,” she said, “and we’re just super, super thankful for all the blessings and opportunities that have come.”
The journey to the Opry
It wasn’t overnight success. The girls chased their big break in country music from Poplarville to New Orleans to Nashville, independently releasing two studio albums and seven singles along the way.
That big break came when they wowed the audiences, the AGT judges and Dolly Parton herself with their original song, “You Can Have Him, Joleen.” Their song is in answer to Parton’s song “Jolene,” released 50 years ago.
The judges gave a group golden buzzer and Parton sent the girls a message on social media.
People ask if they’ve met Parton yet.
“Right now she knows we exist and that is more than OK,” Swindle said. She and her cousins screamed and cried when they realized Parton knew about them, she said, “So I can only imagine how it’s gonna go whenever we finally lay eyes on her.”
On their tour schedule is the Dollywood Harvest Festival Oct. 3.
They’ll also be in Biloxi at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club on Howard Avenue Nov. 30.
And offers and opportunities continue to pour in now that Chapel Hart has the attention of country music and fans from around the world.
Most artists who got near the top of America’s Got Talent, with 20 million people wanting, would be ready for a headline tour, Danica said.
“And we’re like, we want to open for everybody,” she said. “I don’t want to skip that step. We want to open for Carrie Underwood. Zac Brown, Gretchen Wilson, Big and Rich, Garth Brooks,” she said, and Swindle said they want to “sing with Dolly.”
“Just yesterday, the Oak Ridge Boys, they sent us a message and said they really want to do something with us,” Swindle said. The first thing that came to mind, she said, “The harmonies are gonna be incredible.”
Mississippi night at the Opry
They had to choose just three songs to perform at the Grand Ole Opry.
“It was hard, but also in a way it was kind of easy,” Danica said.
With so many people from Poplarville and Pearl River County driving 500 miles to see them in Nashville, they just had to do their song “Made for me,” she said, which tells of their journey to Nashville.
They also chose “You Can Have Him Joleen,” which Danica said has made their career.
And they showed the crowd how well they could sing “American Pride,” which was their finale song on AGT.
“We said we’re on America’s Got Talent but we didn’t realize the real talent was that you got to know how to sing and cry at the same time,” Danica said, “and we couldn’t do that.” Their lyrics saluting the country and its heroes brought them to tears on AGT and possibly cost them votes. They were able to hold back the tears on the Opry stage until the end of the song, she said, showing they could do it proud.
As amazing as the response they got from the stage at the Opry was the reaction of the fans who lined up afterward for a meet and greet. The line at a local bar stretched inside and around the building with people wanting a chance to meet them, “and tell us that they’re proud of us. And so it just made the night so much more special,” Devynn said.
The fans drove in from North Carolina, Canada and other far away places and told the girls, “I love your family. I love your hometown,” Danica said. And they were welcomed with “hugs and loves” from the Chapel Hart girls.
“I don’t know if Nashville was ready for as much Mississippi that happened this weekend,” Danica said.
AGT fun and hometown pride
They gave the wardrobe department at AGT a workout, requesting fringe and sparkles, Danica said.
That made them look great on stage and got the fans’ attention, she said, but they wanted more.
“Yes, we’re here for singing and yes, we’re here for performance,” Danica said. “But mostly we’re here for songwriting, because so long we’ve been writing these songs about growing up in Mississippi,” she said.
This gave them the opportunity, she said, to inspire people to say, ‘Wow, you got some great music — where have you been?’”
One of the things that made a big impact on the girls from Poplarville was when their community came together at the stadium at Pearl River Community College to watch the finale.
Seeing the young band members and cheerleaders watching Chapel Hart make their dreams come true was so emotional, Danica said. She feels the pressure and the honor of being a role model, she said, and would tell the young fans that small towns don’t define them.
“Just because you’re born in small town doesn’t mean you have to be there forever. The world is yours,” she said.
Yet they know Poplarville and South Mississippi is there for them. Danica said she read an editorial posted by the Sun Herald that encouraged Coast residents to keep up the support.
“But now, more than ever, we have to support these country artists who want to break the mold in Nashville.” the editorial said. “Download their music, buy tickets to their shows and follow Chapel Hart on social media. Tell your friends about them and buy their merch. Scream their names from the rooftops like you were during voting on AGT.”
“I do pray that we’re making Mississippi proud,” Danica said.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 3:24 PM.
