Dierks To Debut "Home" On WSM

Waiting not-so-patiently to hear every song in it's entirety on Dierks Bentley's new "Home" CD, instead of the mere 90 second preview on iTunes? Can't wait for the CD release date of February 7? Then tune in to 650am WSM radio on Thursday, February 2 at 2 pm central time!

You may recall that Dierks did a radio show last year on WSM called, "The Thread," produced by Shannon McCombs.  Shannon posted on facebook that she was editing a Dierks radio show--a special that our DB Congress president is hosting--where he will showcase his next CD (Home).

I know many of us DBC-ers will be in Nashville on that day to see DB that night at The Ryman, so be sure to tune in!  If you want to listen online, go to wsmonline.com!

Enjoy!

*The photo was found on facebook taken at the Country Music Hall of Fame about ten years ago.

Happy Birthday to The Hawk!

The DB Congress extends warm birthday wishes to everyone's favorite fiddle player, Dan Hochhalter!

We all got a glimpse of Dan's incredibly adorable birthday cake via twitter today.

Tweeted by Dan:  "Birthday cake from the one and only @mrshochhalter...good stuff!"

Tweeted by Dierks:  "It's @fiddlindan bday today. check out this cake...!" 

Happy birthday, Hawk!  We hope you have a fabulous day with many more to come!

~Amy
DBC Rep, Delaware

Dierks earns an ACM nomination

Nominations for the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced this morning and we were quite pleased to see Dierks on the list! He received 2 nominations (composer and artist) for 'Song of the Year' for the current single, and title track of his new cd, Home.

Dierks appeared to be excited about the nomination. So excited he tweeted this picture:

Congress members from around the world want to wish Dierks all the luck on winning a much deserved award for such a great song. Hopefully a performance too...

-Stephanie, DBC Historian

Dierks Bentley Honors Bob Dylan

A couple of months ago, we posted about Dierks being part of the Bob Dylan compilation cd that was released today, January 24.

Senor Dierks Bentley Joins Bob Dylan Compilation CD

In case you forgot, Dierks was nice enough to remind us today via Twitter!

You can visit the Facebook page for Amnesty International USA and get more information about the compilation cd. Be sure to check out the live version of 'Senor' featuring The Punch Brothers from the Up On the Ridge tour stop at the Ryman in May 2010.

Dierks Jumps On Stage With Alan Jackson & Keith Urban!

Last night, Dierks Bentley tweeted that he, "jumped on stage with some dude playing a bar downtown Nashville tonight. he was pretty good..."

Since the face of "some dude" was kind of blurry, Dierks was trying to throw everyone off track, thinking it really was just some "random" singer. When in fact it was none other than Alan Jackson!

“@dutchiron: @DierksBentley totally cool of you. I'm sure you made his day!”---that was Alan Jackson! the day made was mine!"

Country Weekly reported the night as a private party jam with all the big hitters at Capitol Records, including Bentley, Jackson and Keith Urban, with his first public performance since throat surgery, singing "Mind Your Own Business."

Any Nashvillians attend?  Send us more pics and videos if you got 'em!

Thanks!

Finding a 'Home' in the Top Ten

In its 17th week on the chart, Dierks Bentley's latest single "Home" became his 14th Top-10 single thus far in his career! Congrats, Mr. Prez! Though it moved into the top 10 on Mediabase last week (it is #9 there), it finally hit its current peak on Billboard, at #10, this week (the two charts have different rules when it comes to sending songs to recurrent status, hence the difference). 

It may seem as though the song is moving somewhat slower, and in some respects, it is. However, it is important to note that slower songs typically have a slower ascent up the charts. Not only that, but it did have a 3-week "rest" as the charts dealt with the Christmas effect. Right now, this looks to hit #1 in week 23 or 24. Average chart run time on Billboard is 21.8 weeks. There is an "everybody gets their turn" trend right now on the charts, which puts it 6th in line, assuming nothing going up drops out in front of it. And although it had a little bit of an "off week," I think Capitol is letting it have a bit of a breather before heavier rotation starts back up in conjunction with the album release, as well as Arizona's Centennial (you'll remember it's the "theme song"). For a slower song, it's selling fairly well, too, with current sales sitting at roughly 140,000. And, its listener feedback is also very high - it is #3 on Radio Feedback, and #9 at Callout America.

So although it won't be #1 when the album drops (I think it will be just outside the Top 5), it's still a very healthy-performing song and is doing a great job of promoting the album. As Mike Dungan pointed out to Billboard over the weekend, the great thing is that this album already has two songs that fans are familiar with and responding to (not to mention "Diamonds Make Babies," "5150" and "Cold Cans" that they introduced fans to on the road over the course of the past year). That should only help translate to album sales once the album comes out on February 7th (that's just TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!).

Keep telling radio you're still interested in hearing this song - call, text, tweet or email your stations regularly to request and/or thank them for playing it!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

Big D and Bubba and Dierks in the Studio

Watch Dierks Bentley and radio Ninjas Big D and Bubba in the studio as they talk about everything from the new album, (Home), the first time he heard himself on the radio, whether he likes vinyl, CDs or digital downloads and his pilot's license.


Do you remember the first time?



 
 
Vinyl or digital?

 

Come fly with me...
 

Map of Home Contest Winner Collects From Dierks Bentley

Justin Bockbrader is one of two grand prize winners from Dierks Bentley's "Map of Home" contest, and he spent the day on the road with Dierks and crew in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan yesterday, collecting on his grand prize package!

The Map of Home contest was created to promote Dierks' new single, “Home.”  DB Congress members were encourged to "pin" their "home" on a giant map of the world, and tell their story of what home means to them, with words, pictures and videos. 

Justin lives just outside of Bowling Green, Ohio in the country side of a very small historical town.  Dierks' Mt Pleasant, Michigan show on January 21 was the closest tour date near Pemberville.

"I just started this past summer to be a fan club member (now listed on the dbcongress.com rep page under Ohio!).  I never knew it existed. But I came to know of Dierks when I listened to some of his older stuff and loved it because he sings about heart break and at that time I felt like I was in every song because I've went through all of that," Justin told us.  "I respect and love how he writes the majority of his own music--now a days that's very rare." 

Justin's winning entry is below.

I chose this picture because it is a true definition of home. This farm has been in our family for many generations. From the flag that hangs that was given to us at my uncles funeral, to the 1941 John Deere thats plowed many of fields and helped the family survive. My uncle lived on the farm right after WWII was over. He served for his country just like thousands of others did, and once he passed we could not give the farm away, so now we have family reunions and gatherings at the homestead. All 150 people come out year in and year out to see the old tractors and barns that stand tall for over two centuries. We still farm the land because thats what my uncle and our ancestors would want. I always stop out to see the flag drapped over the beams and think to myself I live in the greatest country in the world and nobody could ever take that from me. God Bless.

Dierks posted a series of tweets to introduce us to Justin:

"the first winner of our HOME map contest is here at our show in Michigan. about to go meet him. he is hanging out with us all day"

"say hi to justin bockbrader! or @bockbutt10. cool HOME story" (Justin tells us the nickname "bockbutt" was given to him by a buddy in the 6th grade and it has stuck every since...)

"he's a hockey player AND the number 7 is his number like me. liking this dude"

""I'm pretty sweet at #NHL Xbox".... wow, its on."

Justin told us that hockey was another huge influence on why he's a fan of Dierks.  "I've played since I was four and it's rare to see any artist lace them up (hockey skates) let alone a country superstar like Dierks."


"1st preshow prayer and huddle with our HOME map contest winner @bockbutt10. thx justin for hanging w us all day."

From Justin's Perspective"

My day with Dierks was one of the coolest experiences ever--the man is so down to earth and the nicest dudes I've ever met. Not only him but also all his band members and stage crew guys. Such good people involved with Dierks. We started out eating lunch and meeting all the members, then we went to the tour bus and played some video games but the NHL game was scratched (he knew I would of owned him). 

Next I watched the sound check to all the songs he was doing that night. Later in the day my parents and I got to do the meet and greet and attend the show.

Justin watches Dierks and the guys at sound check

"Finally after the show we got to hang out on the tour bus with guys and tipped a few brews back. Dierks is a big fan of old classic country music like Hank, Johnny, Strait, and Waylon which I love about him. I always felt like he would be a good man to tip a few back and listen to country gold saturday nights with." 

Dierks lived up to that sentiment by opening the show with a new song from the upcoming "Home" album, "Tip It On Back."  Justin and his dad got to do just that. 

"Just an overall hell of a time," adds Justin. And one final Tweet:

@Bockbutt10: @DierksBentley Dierks man, really appreciate everything, was a badass time and experience, thanks for everything brother hope to see ya soon

Congratulations, Justin! Thanks for sharing your experience! And welcome to the DB Congress!

~Ronna
DBC Chair, FL