In the lead-up to Jess Moskaluke’s childhood dreams coming true, she simply couldn’t stop crying.
The singer from small-town Saskatchewan had performed plenty of times, though none was quite as monumental as the one she embarked on Thursday night.
“I’m probably a little dramatic about it, but it’s just something that I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl and didn’t think was ever going to happen for me,” she said in a recent interview.
Thousands of TV viewers watched last month’s Canadian Country Music Awards as Moskaluke, flanked by radio personality Shannon Ella, fell to her knees and sobbed as she was invited to make her debut on the Grand Ole Opry.
Afterward, the self-professed popcorn lover went backstage, snagged a large bag of the cinema snack and went out to celebrate before clocking in for her other full-time job — as mom.
“I didn’t stay out all night, but I definitely did go home to change a dirty diaper,” said Moskaluke, whose son Tripp was born in April.
Moskaluke’s two-song set at the Opry, known as the show that made country music famous, came as the Canadian Country Music Association honoured its 50th birthday.
The Thursday broadcast, the association said, was to bring together generations of all-Canadian acts to showcase the “special place Canadian country music holds” in the industry.
The show began with a rousing opening act by Alberta’s Terri Clark. Toronto-born singer Tami Neilson also sang, tipping a metaphorical cowboy hat to k.d. lang with her 1990 classic “Big Boned Gal.”
The Opry’s connection to Canada dates back decades to hitmakers such as Hank Snow, the so-called singing ranger from Nova Scotia who joined the organization in 1950.
Though membership, considered one of country music’s highest honours, remains largely elusive to Canadians. Snow was a member until his death in 1999, after which Clark became its sole Canadian member upon her induction in 2004.
Ahead of the broadcast, Moskaluke said she didn’t know how the Opry drew her straw.
“I still don’t know how they picked me, why they picked me, what they heard, how they heard of me,” she said in an interview from her home in Rocanville, Sask., population 889.
“All I can hope is that (the audiences) like the songs and they like my voice and think that I would be a good representative (of Canada) on their stage.”
The 36-year-old has been in the country music game a long time. She picked up music in her mid-teens through church choirs, talent shows and appearances on local radio stations.
She thought about working in corrections or as a beautician. But at 21, she won a contest that led to her first CCMA Award and an appearance at the 2012 CMA Music Festival in Nashville.
And her debut single “Catch Me If You Can” — about breaking down life’s walls to chase her dreams — made it onto Canadian country music charts.
Fast forward to now, and she’s won several awards, charted with hits like “Cheap Wine And Cigarettes” from her 2014 debut studio album, and performed with the likes of Paul Brandt and Alan Doyle.
Over the years, Moskaluke says her music, and she herself, has done a lot of growing up. Now the music flows naturally, and she won’t release a song without her personal stamp of approval.
“I’ve always said that the best song wins and I would never put out a song if I didn’t believe in it or if I didn’t feel like it resonated with me some way,” she said.
Jess Moskaluke arrives on the red carpet at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards, in Kelowna, B.C., Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Moskaluke’s Opry performance also comes amid a diplomatic discord.
The ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States has seen American lawmakers push back against Canadian content rules for streaming giants.
Meanwhile, Spotify data from last year showed Canadian and French-Canadian country music had a sustained boost in popularity, and argues streaming was helping artists reach new audiences.
Moskaluke said despite recent tensions, Nashville has given her no snide remarks about being Canadian. And while she doesn’t live in Music City, the wider country circle has been welcoming, she said.
At one time, Canadians might not have been taken as seriously in Nashville, though she said that tide is turning — largely through the internet.
“I know that there’s a lot of Canadians in the States that are having some success on both sides of the border,” Moskaluke said, noting Alberta’s Tenille Townes as an example.
“She’s kind of broken that wall down and she’s been able to be successful on both sides.”
As the clock ticked down to Moskaluke stepping into the Opry’s legendary microphone circle — sawed from the floor of its historic home at the Ryman Auditorium — her own mental battle heated up.
She said she’d spent much of the last month in rehearsals. She’d also gone through box after box of tissues.
“It’s going to be more important in that moment than ever to just be like, ‘Don’t cry, hit the notes, try not to stumble over your words, get in, enjoy it, and get out with grace,'” she said.
And she didn’t need the tissues Thursday.
Moskaluke sang “Cheap Wine And Cigarettes” and “Take Me Home,” about an ex-boyfriend trying to pick up where he left off with an ex, even though he’s already found someone else.
Her set ended with a standing ovation.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” she said. “It’s pretty cool, when do we get to do this again?”
Alberta’s Gord Bamford also debuted at the Opry with “When Your Lips Are So Close” and “Leaning on a Lonesome Song.”
“Grand Ole Opry: Celebrating 50 Years of the CCMA” is set to air across Canada on the Pure Country radio network on Nov. 6.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2026.
By Aaron Sousa | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.