CMT Blog: Dierks Bentley

Everybody's been asking me lately what I think about Dierks Bentley's new album, Up on the Ridge. And I always reply that I'm proud of him for making it -- and that's true. But it's been a challenge for me to describe it, except to say that it's a compelling combination of bluegrass and contemporary country music, and that it cuts right to the chase. By that, I mean the music is right there in front of you -- not hiding behind any veil of gimmicks or technology. I really dig it. The tracks I keep returning to are "Fiddlin' Around," because that melody always perks me up, and "Love Grows Wild," with its sweet, mature lyrics. But my favorite one is "Draw Me a Map," because its message of forgiveness is well-matched to the tempo -- brooding but still a sense of urgency.

For this playlist, I'll let "Draw Me a Map" lead the way, followed by several other new tunes from country, rock, R&B, Americana and bluegrass that caught my attention over the last few weeks.

"Draw Me a Map," Dierks Bentley
"Journey On," Ty Herndon
"Lovin' Her Was Easier," Mark Chesnutt
"Running Man's Bible," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
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When I saw Dierks Bentley perform "Up on the Ridge" a couple of weeks ago, he talked about how the song was all about taking your instruments that don't require electricity and gettin' away and doing some pickin'. And he had the chance to do just that last night (June 21) when he was taping a Jimmy Kimmel Live show. The power went out, shutting down the control room, broadcast transmission center and tape operations. As a result, Kimmel had to record the show on his laptop through his webcam. Bentley had just a few minutes to get an acoustic take on the song ready. It was so acoustic they didn't even have microphones. Kimmel later said to Bentley, "Man, 99 percent of the bands we have on our show would have never been able to pull that off musically ... that was incredible." Well, that's how they live up on the ridge. The show airs tonight (June 22) on ABC.

LeAnn Rimes cranked up the energy level at last week's CMT Music Awards when she previewed her new single, a cover of John Anderson's 1983 hit, "Swingin'." Her new album will be released later this year. Through her "Posted" page at CMT.com, Rimes took the time to answer questions fans submitted by voicemail and via Twitter.

Voicemail: Love the new single! When can we expect the video?

Rimes: The video will debut this weekend on CMT's New Music Weekend! Its super fun and campy. I love it!

Voicemail: What's your favorite summertime hit of all time?

Wow, that's hard. Maybe, Bryan Adams "Summer Of 69."

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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.

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After spending $17 million and months of blood, sweat and tears, the Grand Ole Opry is pretty confident they will be able to reopen on October 1. And that has me thinking about who will have the honor of being the very first country artist to take that famed Opry stage when they are back in business. I'd go with a lineup that includes Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton and George Jones, as well as Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire and Trace Adkins. I'd also like to see Martina McBride, Randy Travis, Josh Turner and Dierks Bentley on the stage. Granted, we'd be there all night, but it would be quite the grand reopening concert, right? A spokesperson for Gaylord Entertainment said the Nashville flood in May caused so much damage that the stage, dressing rooms, retail store, curtains, mechanical and power systems all needed to be replaced in the building, which has been the home of the Grand Ole Opry since 1974. But that reopening night will be such a happy ending to such a tragic story.

Photo credit: Billy Kingsley

Dierks Bentley didn't have to do Up on the Ridge. It's the album he really wanted to make, but he could've just pushed it to the back burner because it wasn't as mainstream as his first four studio albums. It's more "bluegrass-influenced." But he seems like he's not afraid to put himself out there and do things that other artists might consider a little risky. And thank God for us, he took that risk. Up on the Ridge comes out today (June 8), and there's not enough room in this blog for me to rave the way I want to rave.

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The theme of this weekend was people pulling me onstage during their shows. It started at BamaJam this Thursday in Enterprise, Ala. The crowd was amazing and my band and I had a blast playing our show. Dierks Bentley closed that night, and right in the middle of his show he pulled me up onstage and we sang the George Strait classic, "All My Ex's Live in Texas." I have to say a huge "thank you" to Dierks for that one. He is an amazing artist and an amazing guy. Then on Friday we played in Augusta, Ga., with my labelmate, Jake Owen. During Jake's show, he pulled me onstage and we sang a John Anderson tune together (and I may have done the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song, ha ha). Thanks for everything, Jake!

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Dierks Bentley's new album, Up on the Ridge, comes out a week from today, on June 8. I got an advance copy a couple weeks ago and I have to say that before I even slid that CD into the player, I knew I was going to love it. That's because with every CD I get, I immerse myself in the liner notes 100 percent. I read every lyric to every song, then all the stuff at the end. That's usually just a few paragraphs of gratitude, and Bentley definitely gets around to all those thanks, but first he shares his epiphany about finding what he calls "the musical foundation" he'd been hoping to find when he moved to Nashville 15 years ago.

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Dierks Bentley fans and bluegrass lovers both had something to cheer for Saturday night (May 22) when the singer wrapped his Up on the Ridge tour with a sold-out show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Along with some of his hits played bluegrass style, Bentley showed off many of the songs from his newest album, Up on the Ridge, out June 8. Featuring the Travelin' McCourys and guest appearances by the Punch Brothers, Del McCoury and Jon Randall, the mix of country and bluegrass inspiration was right at home on the Ryman stage.

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Remember that Saturday Night Live skit from about 10 years ago, with a fictional Blue Öyster Cult in the studio and the producer who kept wanting to hear more cowbell on "(Don't Fear) the Reaper"? I feel that exact same way about the banjo. There's never enough. And even worse, when there's a song that has no banjo whatsoever, I honestly find it hard to even call a song like that country.

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