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Published Wednesday, July 22, 2009 in Local

The Wrights at the Ryman tonight

By Alex McRae

The Times-Herald

Country music duo The Wrights continue to show up in the Nashville spotlight, and tonight they will be on what was once Nashville's most coveted stage ... the Ryman Auditorium, which for years was the home of the Grand Ole Opry.

The Wrights, better know to locals as Adam and Shannon, will open for Chris Isaac, who is promoting his new album, "Mr. Lucky."

Adam and Shannon met and started playing together more than 10 years ago. They were married in 2001 and live in Nashville. They toured with Adam's legendary uncle, Newnan native Alan Jackson, in 2005 and have performed alongside Jackson on "The Today Show" and "The Late Show with David Letterman."

They have played at the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium several times. The couple's first album, released in 2005, was titled "Down This Road." A self-titled second album, "The Wrights," hit the stores a couple of years later, and last year, the couple released a self-produced album of cover songs titled "In the Summertime."

When they are not at home writing new hits, the Wrights travel extensively and are regular performers on the Nashville music scene. They are also earning a reputation as one of Nashville's most talented and well-liked couples.

Last year, after Music City Yearbook named The Wrights its Class Couple of 2008, Peter Cooper of the Nashville Tennessean said, "The musicianship is tasteful and elegant, and the harmonies verge on unfair ... these folks can call a rehearsal any time of the day or night."

Washington Post music critic Geoffrey Himes placed the couple's second album, "The Wrights," on his list of Top 100 Albums of 2008. Himes wrote: "Being Alan Jackson's nephew surely opened doors for Adam Wright, but it's the singing and songwriting of Wright and his wife, Shannon, that has impressed executives and critics alike. Adam has an appealing tenor, but Shannon's exceptional soprano is the act's best weapon."

Last summer's self-produced "In the Summertime" also earned critical acclaim. Jon Weisberger of "The Nashville Scene" said, "You expect consistency in a set of home-made recordings that feature little more than a guitar or two and a voice or two, but if consistency's all you get, it's probably not enough to keep you coming back. So chalk one up for The Wrights, whose spare In The Summertime serves up a set of covers from sources that range from Mississippi John Hurt and Leadbelly to Morphine by way of Roger Miller, Del McCoury and Tim Carroll. Really, there's not a clunker in the self-released bunch -- and it's a given that Adam and Shannon can dish them out onstage in the same way."

Even though Nashville is officially home, the couple make appearances each year in metro Atlanta and Coweta County. They have performed at the Up in Smoke barbecue cookoff, the Powers' Crossroads Country Fair and Arts festival and the Coweta County Fair. For information about The Wrights' music or schedules, check out their Web site: www.the wrightsmusic.com .