Dierks Bentley defines the country drifter. At least that's what Charles Haymes believes."According to Webster’s Dictionary, a ‘drifter’ is defined as “one who travels or moves about aimlessly.” Due to the wide range of subject matter of his songs and his passion for touring America, Bentley, in many ways, fits that description." Haymes is a writer from Beebe and a member of both the Country Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association. Below are excerpts from his article.
Dierks said, “I want to wake up every morning thinking ‘I’ve got to make the most of this day.” If we’re playing a corn dog fair, I get out there and check out the horses and the cows and the prizes and hang out and meet people. You get to be a country music missionary. You’re touching people’s lives every day. You’re influencing these people. So, I try to make the most out of every day.”
“I don’t have a storybook tale to tell, as many entertainers do, about growing up in a musical family,” he noted. “Everything I learned musically, I had to learn on my own. My country music education has consisted of listening to a lot of records and spending a lot of time playing in Nashville bars and clubs.”
Bentley definitely knows a thing or two about playing in bars and clubs. He moved to Nashville at 19, and immediately, he threw himself into the downtown scene. Using a fake ID to enter, he started hanging out at the Station Inn, a well known bluegrass bar. It was there that Bentley really started to get a feel for the music business.
“Thank God I walked in there,” he said. “Bluegrass gave me my whole foundation.”
This summer, Bentley will retrace his bluegrass roots upon the release of “Up on the Ridge.” The album will feature a wide range of material and is destined to be a fine acoustic roots project.
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