Dierks Bentley Takes Bluegrass Route to Sirius XM
I've seen Dierks Bentley in concert every which way. Arenas, honky tonks, health clubs. But I've never seen him (or heard him) sound as good as he did on Wednesday afternoon (June 9). He was in the studio with DJ Al Skop, about 40 other lucky fans and me. The show was broadcasting live on The Highway, the Sirius XM radio station that plays new country, which is weird because other than the fact that it's from Bentley, there's nothing very new or mainstream or pop about this country music. It is more old-school roots music that he just bluegrassed up. And it's even better live than it is on his new Up on the Ridge album.
Bentley was there to christen this Music City Theatre right inside Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, overlooking the Ryman Auditorium and lower Broadway. He only had time for seven songs, but he chose them well. He and his six-man band did old ones like "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)," "Sideways" and "Feel That Fire," but even on those, Bentley said he was trying to put a bluegrass twist on them. The other four tunes he played were all good, the kind that Bentley said are good for gettin' away and doing some good pickin'. And when it came time to sing one of the album's best and brightest, "Draw Me a Map," he had Ronnie McCoury fill in for Alison Krauss who shares vocals with Bentley on the album. McCoury also played the hell out of his mandolin on every single song they did.
In the countless interviews Bentley's done for this album, he keeps saying that it's not a purely bluegrass album. That it has more of a country/bluegrass sound but with a rock 'n' roll mentality. And he usually adds, like he did at this broadcast, that so many of his old songs already had a banjo-driven feel. At this point, I don't care what he calls it. I think this music is so unique it transcends any kind of box you try to put it in. So much so, I went back for more to hear him play later that night at Nashville's Limelight.
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Patty says:
Thank God for Dierks Bentley! After watching the CMT awards and how bad it was, it’s good to see an artist who knows what country music is all about. I love his music and his new CD is really good!!!
me says:
we picked up the new cd today. it’s very good. and only a few of the songs had drums so he kept pretty close to true bluegrass.
bchapman says:
suppost to be country music awards not a clown show the beginning was the worse i ever saw
bchapman says:
the country stars were great please stop ruinning country
kaylyn says:
I am glad that I got dierks bentley’s new bluegrass cd yesterday when I was hangout with my best friend because I love every single song that is on dierks bentley’s bluegrass cd album and I love dierks bentley as a great country singer, songwriter and as my country music hero.
Dierks Bentley « Gorilla Magnet says:
[...] Dierks Bentley Takes Bluegrass Route to Sirius XMI’ve seen Dierks Bentley in concert every which way. Arenas, honky tonks, health clubs. But I’ve never seen him (or heard him) sound as good as he did on Wednesday afternoon (June 9). He was in the studio with DJ Al Skop, about 40 other lucky fans and me. The show was broadcasting live on [...]Read More [...]
Redmaz says:
Not a fan, but I’ll give him credit for standing by his word from a few years ago.
solongsowrong says:
I know what you mean, Redmaz. I respect the fact that he recognizes and uses the Roots artists, but it still doesn’t change the fact that his style doesn’t appeal to me.
I just hope that the ones here who are saying they love it, take the opportunity to check out some of the Roots Country artists that have helped Bentley on this project. From all the complaining I’ve been seeing on these blogs about the latest awards show, it sounds like many are getting more and more disenchanted in the direction Pop Country is taking them.
merlefan50 says:
I also hope the fans will check out the real bluegrass artists out there Like Ralph Stanley, Del McCoury band, Don Rigsby To name a few.