Dierks Bentley on 'Broken Branches,' being a 'banned' fan at the Grand Ole Opry

Dierks Bentley is currently celebrating the release of his new album, 'Broken Branches,' and recently made time to talk with Katie Neal about his latest project, and the story of his temporary ban from the Grand Ole Opry. "It's kind of surreal to have it be done," Dierks says of the release of his latest album, 'Broken Branches.' "You spend, like you said, so much time working on the album. It's different now than it was when you first started putting records out. There's some preloading that happens now, the little videos you make for each song and releasing tracks along the way before the album comes out, then once it does come out, it's kind of like, it feels pretty final, where it used to be you put the album out, there's a lot of stuff behind it that happens, but now with obviously streaming once you put the album out it's really out and everyone can access every song and it feels pretty great. I'm really happy to have it out there." After diving into the making of some of the album's key tracks, our 2025 'Stars and Strings' headliner also shared a story of the time he was "banned" from the Grand Ole Opry because he was too big of a fan. "I used to work at TNN, The Nashville Network, which is a building directly across the driveway from where the Grand Ole Opry is," recalls Bentley. "On Fridays, you could just sign this piece of paper and let them know you're gonna come over. So I'd signed this piece of paper and say, 'Hey, I'm gonna be at the Opry tonight,' and you could get a pass to come in backstage and watch the show. It was great. I'd do it every Friday and Saturday, and then I go down to Lower Broadway afterwards." "I did it every weekend and finally, they sent an email out to my employer saying, 'Hey, Dierks a nice guy, but he can't come to the Opry every single night. Sorry, we just can't have him back there every night.' So they kind of kicked me out from backstage, from doing that back then." Dierks eventually got "the ultimate backstage pass," when he became a member of the Opry in 2005. "I was just too big of a fan, going too often." To hear more from Dierks Bentley on his album, tour, working with Zach Top, and more check out the full 'Superstar Power Hour' interview above. And don't forget to get your tickets to see Dierks and more at Audacy's 'Stars and Strings' on November 6.