WTF Was J Mascis Doing Onstage at the Grand Ole Opry?

When John R. Miller made his second appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on Thursday night, he didn’t do it alone. The Appalachian-born singer-songwriter was joined by Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis, for a guitar-heavy rendition of “Steering Wheel Drums,” from Miller’s excellent new album The Great Unknowing.

“So incredibly cool and surreal to get to see J Mascis rip on the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry,” Miller tells Rolling Stone about the experience. “I’m super grateful to the wonderful folks who run the Opry show, not only for having me back, but for giving me the opportunity to honor one of my all-time guitar heroes in an especially unlikely fashion.”

It was Mascis’ first time at the country music institution, and though he might not exactly fit in with some of the mainstream acts who populate the stage, his music has undoubtably had influence on scores of artists in the folk and Americana-adjacent worlds, from Miller and MJ Lenderman to Waxahatchee. Dinosaur Jr. have actually described their distortion and fuzz-heavy sound as “ear-bleeding country” — in fact, it’s the title of their greatest hits compilation.

Miller takes influence from Mascis in both his fluid approach to the guitar and his songwriting, which doesn’t worry as much about a genre as the strength of the story.  On songs like “Tollbooth,” which Miller also played last night at the Opry, he tells of road-worn, midlife desolation in vibrant detail. “I think the tollbooth operator’s high,” he sings. “I don’t wonder why.”