The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has promoted five of its staff members across key departments.

Tess Pardee has been elevated to Associate Director of Creative Project Management, while Marshell Ruffier now serves as Associate Director of Food and Beverage Operations. Alex Krompic has stepped into the role of Director of Production and Technical Services, and Emily Zirkle has been named Associate Director of Events Administration and Entertainment. Additionally, John Sloboda has been promoted to Executive Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Services.

In her new role, Pardee assists in overseeing the project management team and leads the execution of a variety of creative projects, as well as streamlines processes and helps to manage resources for the museum’s creative department. Since joining the museum in 2023, she has managed creative development for the museum’s general marketing materials, exhibitions and special projects, including the museum’s annual Medallion Ceremony, ongoing core exhibition updates and more. Prior to joining the museum, Pardee worked in entertainment and advertising industries for nearly a decade in Los Angeles, New York City and Austin, Texas. She holds a bachelor’s degree in film, television and digital media from Texas Christian University.

Ruffier will oversee the banquet team as well as the museum’s café, Red Onion. With more than 30 years of experience in the restaurant and banquets industry, she works with the service managers and the kitchen team closely to ensure high quality hospitality for more than 1,400 third-party and private events held annually at the museum. Ruffier’s responsibilities include managing servers and bartenders and ordering equipment for private and internal events. She also works with the operations team on the museum’s sustainability initiatives, including composting and recycling efforts. Since joining the museum in 2009 as banquet manager, Ruffier now manages more than 80 staff members between banquets and Red Onion.

In his new role, Krompic oversees the events teams for production audio, video and lighting. These teams manage and execute more than 1,400 third-party and private events annually at the museum. Since joining the museum as a contractor in 2007 and a staff member in 2015, Krompic’s most recent role was manager of production and technical services. For more than 28 years, Krompic has worked in lighting, audio and rigging fields all over the world. Prior to joining the museum, he worked in live concerts, touring with many country, pop and rock artists.

Zirkle tracks and manages revenue and expenses for more than 1,400 third-party and private events annually, which support the museum’s nonprofit mission. In addition to her administrative duties, Zirkle is responsible for the execution of all publicly ticketed events in the museum’s CMA Theater, including the museum’s artist-in-residence shows, as well as engagement and experience events for museum staff. She joined the museum in 2017 as an events intern and has since served in multiple roles in the events and culinary department — most recently as senior events administration manager. Zirkle also oversees the events department interns and has managed and mentored more than 15 interns during her tenure, leading to several full-time hires within the department. She holds a bachelor’s degree in entertainment management from Missouri State University.

Sloboda oversees the exhibits, curatorial and registration teams, including guiding all phases of the museum’s gallery exhibitions — from conception and design through fabrication and installation. He leads the exhibits team in collaboration with curatorial, creative, education and editorial staff to create approximately 12 temporary exhibits each year that draw from the museum’s unparalleled collections and interpret the history of country music. Sloboda also manages updates to the museum’s permanent exhibitions, helps guide collecting initiatives, and works to increase the museum’s conservation efforts. He previously served as director of exhibitions. Prior to joining the museum in 2022, Sloboda worked in the exhibitions department at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for nearly 13 years, ultimately serving as the director of museum design and exhibitions. He earned a bachelor’s degree in illustration and graphic design from the Cleveland Institute of Art.

Dierks Bentley will kick the summer off with his 2025 “Broken Branches Tour” in Austin on May 29.

The tour will visit over 30 cities nationwide, with rising star Zach Top and new Warner Music duo The Band Loula joining him this summer. Tickets will go on sale this Friday (Feb. 21) at dierks.com. Citi cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets beginning tomorrow (Feb. 18) until Thursday (Feb 20) through the Citi Entertainment program.

“I’m 20(ish) years into doing this, and I’ve seriously never been more excited about a tour,” says Bentley. “We had Zach out for a few shows last summer, and I knew right away that we had to do more together. He loves the same kind of country music I do, and he’s got the bluegrass chops to hang with the best of ‘em in a jam. I’ve got a million ideas for the set list rolling around in my head. It’ll be fun to figure out how to make it all come to life with a new album and new production.”

Bentley recently teased a new upcoming album with the release of the leadoff single “She Hates Me,” which features the tongue-twisting story of a girl who is no longer falling for his country-boy charm.

“Broken Branches Tour” 2025 Dates:
5/29 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ^
5/30 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavillion ^
5/31 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center *
6/5 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre *
6/6 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre *
6/7 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre #
6/12 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage *
6/14 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre *
6/19 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre *
6/20 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre *
6/21 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater *
6/26 – Los Angeles, CA – Intuit Dome ^
6/27 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre *
6/28 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre *
7/10 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater *
7/11 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live *
7/12 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center ^
7/18 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center *
7/19 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center *
7/31 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre *
8/1 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater *
8/7 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion ^
8/8 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek *
8/9 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion *
8/14 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater ^
8/15 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center *
8/16 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts *
8/21 – Savannah, GA – Enmarket Arena *
8/22 – Birmingham, AL – Coca Cola Amphitheatre *
8/23 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum *
8/28 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden *
8/29 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake ^
8/30 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre ^

* On-Sale This Friday, February 21
^ On-Sale Next Friday, February 28
# On-Sale Friday, March 7

Cody Johnson gave Nashville two back-to-back sold-out shows at Bridgestone Arena as part of his “Leather Deluxe Tour” on Friday (Feb. 14) and Saturday (Feb. 15), drawing over 30,000 fans. During his tour stop at the venue last year, Johnson set a record as the male country artist with the most tickets sold for a debut performance at Bridgestone.

Johnson brought several surprise guests on stage during the two-night event. On Friday (Feb. 14), Randy Houser, who opened the show, joined Johnson for a performance of “Seven Spanish Angels,” and Marcus King helped wrap up the evening with a collaboration on “Call Me The Breeze.” Saturday’s (Feb. 15) show featured three special guests, Ian Munsick for “Long Live Cowgirls,” Luke Combs for “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and Carrie Underwood, who joined Johnson for “I’m Gonna Love You.”

This weekend’s openers were Chayce Beckham and Houser on Friday night (Feb. 14), followed by Drew Baldridge and Ashley McBryde on Saturday (Feb. 15).

The “Leather Deluxe Tour” will continue this weekend with stops in Buffalo and Cincinnati before Johnson heads overseas in March.

Graham Barham has released two new tracks, “Oil Money” and “Half A Dozen Roses” from his Oil Money EP, today (Feb. 14).

The eight-track project also includes Barham’s recent hits “Whiskey Whiskey,” “Shoot The Lock” and “Lie To Me.” Writers contributing to the EP include David Lee Murphy, Cole Miracle, Lindsay Rimes, Beau Bailey and more.

“We’re introducing Club Country with a bang!” says Barham, coining the new phrase to describe his ear-catching sound. “’Oil Money’ came together so fast and had an immediate reaction – I’m pumped to have it out.”

Barham will head to Europe for the C2C: Country to Country Festival next month, as well as select dates with Dasha in Germany. In April, he’ll join Dylan Scott on the road for the “Country Til I Die Tour.”

Oil Money Track List:
1. “Oil Money” (Graham Barham / Beau Bailey / Sam Bergeson / Cole Miracle)
2. “Whiskey Whiskey” (Graham Barham / Gabe Foust / Jacob Hackworth / Summer Overstreet)
3. “Half A Dozen Roses” (Graham Barham / Jessi Alexander / Jesse Frasure / David Lee Murphy)
4. “Lie To Me” (Graham Barham / Beau Bailey / Jacob Hackworth / Sam Martinez)
5. “Something To Chase” (Graham Barham / Beau Bailey / Sam Martinez / Dallas Wilson)
6. “M.I.A.” (Graham Barham / Beau Bailey / Gabe Foust / Cole Miracle)
7. “You Wont’ Let Me Stay” (Graham Barham / Cole Miracle / Lindsay Rimes / Michael Whitworth)
8. “Shoot The Lock” (Graham Barham / John Pierce / Lindsay Rimes / Michael Whitworth)