The whole world felt the sting of the passing of Leslie Jordan, the four-foot-eleven firecracker known for his thick-as-honey Southern drawl, loveable Instagram videos, and witty one-liners. “I open my mouth and fifty yards of purple chiffon come rattling out,” he once told G&G in a personality-filled interview.
On February 19, the Grand Ole Opry will host “Reportin’ For Duty: A Tribute To Leslie Jordan,” a night of live music, on-stage storytelling, and other performances by Jordan’s friends and colleagues from all corners of the entertainment industry. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, January 13, on the Opry website.
While best known for his roles in television, especially Will and Grace and American Horror Story, Jordan dabbled in music, too, releasing his debut gospel album, Company’s Comin’, in 2021, a compilation of soul-filled hymns from his Southern Baptist youth.
Company’s Comin’ had a star-studded guest roster, and the Opry tribute draws from the same pool. Brandi Carlile, Ashley McBryde, Eddie Vedder, Travis Howard, and T.J. Osborne of Brothers Osborne will all be performing. Maren Morris, Brittney Spencer, Billy Strings, Lukas Nelson, and Danny Myrick will join them to honor Jordan’s zest for life and music.
This house band will be entirely composed of musicians who played on Company’s Comin’, including three ACM Instrumentalist of the Year winners. Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik from Jordan’s time on the sitcom Call Me Kat will pop in, along with the actors Anthony Mason, Max Greenfield, and Cheyenne Jackson.
The evening will embody the words Jordan sang alongside Dolly Parton in “Where the Soul Never Dies”: “Dear friends, there’ll be no sad farewell / There’ll be no tear-dimmed eyes / Where all is peace and joy and love / And the soul of a man never dies.”
Proceeds from the event will benefit the EB Research Partnership, a cause known to be close to Jordan’s heart.
