Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum Welcomes Two, Promotes Three
Pictured (L-R): Allison Moorer, Brad Henton, Paige Maillet, Jon Freeman and Kayleigh Shoemaker. Photos: Courtesy of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has made a series of staff additions and promotions.
Jon Freeman and Allison Moorer have joined the staff as Writer-Editors in the Museum Services department. Staff promotions include Brad Henton to Senior Director of Culinary, Event and Museum Sales; Paige Maillet to Director of Guest Experience and Kayleigh Shoemaker to Director of Public Programs.
In their roles as Writer-Editors, Freeman and Moorer will contribute to exhibitions, museum publications, public programs, online offerings, social media channels and other educational initiatives that interpret and illuminate the genre and explore the broad and ever-evolving narratives of its history and its contributions to culture.
Freeman is a Nashville-based writer and editor who most recently spent seven years working for Rolling Stone helping oversee the publication’s Rolling Stone Country online section. Freeman’s media career began with the Nashville trade publication MusicRow, and in 2012, he joined the staff of Country Weekly magazine as an Editor, where he remained through the company’s rebrand to Nash Country Weekly. A graduate of Auburn University, Freeman’s writing has appeared in Spin, NPR Music, the Nashville Scene and Vinyl Me Please, in addition to Rolling Stone.
Moorer is a singer-songwriter, producer and author who has released 10 albums and published two memoirs, Blood and I Dream He Talks to Me. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, as well as awards from the Grammys, Americana Music Association and Academy of Country Music. Moorer’s work has been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, American Songwriter, Guernica, No Depression, Literary Hub and The Bitter Southerner. She also received the Hall-Waters Prize for Excellence in Southern Writing in 2020 and the Alabama Library Association’s Authors Award in 2022. Moorer holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from The New School.
In his new role of Senior Director of Culinary, Event and Museum Sales, Henton will continue to lead the museum sales and reservations department in overseeing daily admissions to the museum, Hatch Show Print and Historic RCA Studio B. He will also take on new areas of responsibility including CMA Theater concerts and operations, private event sales and services, as well as food and beverage operations and events hosted by the museum, including its annual Medallion Ceremony. Henton joined the museum in 2004, and most recently served as Director of Museum Sales and Guest Experience. Henton has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Alabama.
Maillet oversees all aspects of the visitor experience for the museum, Hatch Show Print, Historic RCA Studio B tours and CMA Theater shows, as well as other publicly ticketed events and programs. Her oversight includes box office sales, information and membership desks, greeters, tour guides and ushers. During her nine-year tenure with the museum, Maillet has served in many positions, most recently as Associate Director of Guest Relations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Texas Christian University.
In her new role, Shoemaker will develop and oversee the museum’s programs, working with staff writers, editors and historians to present over 200 programs annually including interviews and performances with renowned session musicians and songwriters, exhibit-related programs with content experts, and more. She joined the museum in 2017, and most recently served as Senior Public Programs Manager. Shoemaker previously worked with NSAI, Agency for the Performing Arts and Bluewater Music. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University’s recording industry program with a concentration in music business.
