New Tour, New Look ... New Music!

As you all know, the Locked & Reloaded Tour kicked off last week in Columbia, SC. Lots of DB Congress members were able to make it to shows during the kickoff weekend between Columbia, Knoxville, TN; and Roanoke, VA.

I went to the show in Roanoke on Saturday night, and had heard a few "spoilers" about what to expect in the show. By now you've heard that they're using video elements (which I really, really liked - they enhanced the show, rather than distracting from it), a larger stage (I'm 95% sure that Dierks will fall on those stairs at some point...) and perhaps about Dierks giving away a guitar every night.

As usual, Dierks and the band gave a high-energy performance, that kept the sold-out crowd on hand dancing in their seats and on their feet. The set kicked off with Am I The Only One and included new hits like 5-1-5-0 and current single Tip it on Back, as well as old favorites such as Lot of Leavin' Left to Do, Every Mile a Memory, and Come a Little Closer. Up on the Ridge is always a crowd favorite, and on the new stage with the awesome full-moon-and-woods backdrop it really transported the crowd to the ridge with Dierks and the band.

However, the highlight for me, and for the fellow DBC reps I was with, was the addition of a new song, "I Hold On." I had heard rumblings of a new song being performed and had my camera locked and loaded (pun intended!) and ready to record the new song. Dierks introduced the song by saying that after his dad passed away last year, he wanted to write a song. He went on to say that if there was a song he'd written that he could play for anybody to tell them what he's all about, this would be that song. The song is, in a word, fantastic. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments!



Another favorite moment for me was during "Home" with all of the cell phones lit up.

If you go to any of the shows on the Locked & Reloaded tour, make sure you stay all the way through Miranda's set, because you'll see some familiar faces during the encore - the show closes with a rousing rendition of "Bad Angel" and includes Miranda's full band as well as Dierks' full band. In the pic below, you can see that Steve, normally our favorite drummer, was "playing" the banjo. Hmmm...

All in all, the show was great. Dierks and Miranda compliment each other well and they work well together as performers - and they both seem like they are genuinely enjoying themselves. My only complaint? Not enough Dierks! But I guess that's how it always goes...

Carrie S.
DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC

Dierks Bentley Gives Away His Guitar in Knoxville

The "Locked and Reloaded" tour is off to a great start, with stops in Columbia, SC, Knoxville, TN and Roanoke, VA this past weekend.  Dierks Bentley always finds a way to take it up a notch, but this time he went way over the top, to give a loyal fan a "rock-star" experience.

One of our hard-core, die hard DB Congress Reps, David Mattingly from Kentucky, who rarely attends a Dierks show without his DBC shirt on, got rewarded big time in Knoxville Friday night! Here's David's story:

"I'll try to be brief in describing what was one of the three best moments of my life (and I have two daughters)!
Last night I went to a Dierks/Miranda concert in Knoxville,TN. About midway through Dierks' set he came to my side of the stage. I went to give him knuckles (as I usually do) and he looked at me and said, "no Dave, come here." He pulled me up on the stage and proceeded to take his guitar off and strap it around my neck! I've never played a guitar in my life. Needless to say I'm left handed and he strapped a right handed guitar on me - total awkward feeling. 

So I just took off running around the stage, like he does, while attempting to strum his guitar.  I recall going over to Cassady Feasby (bass player) and saying to him, "man I really suck at this!" But for about two minutes of my life I felt kinda like a real Rockstar!  What an amazing feeling to stand on that stage with the attention of thousands of people. I took his guitar off and handed it back to him. But I just showed him the pic and then stuck it in my pocket! The crowd got a kick out of that.

I jumped back down to my spot and honestly, things were kinda fuzzy after that. Took me a while to catch my breath and somewhat absorb what just happened. They played several more songs before the show came to an end. I loved the new stage (except D is gonna get hurt on those steps) and the video screen really enhanced some songs. UOTR was magical. The set list was changed up somewhat as well. Thinkin' was not last and I liked that. Lighting was awesome, lots of new features! He played one new song and I thought it was great. So they played their last song and all stood for a bow at the front of the stage. So the night was over, another great Dierks show, right..........NOT.

After the bow, Jay carried out a guitar and handed it to Dierks. I thought, yay, another song! Nope. Dierks took the guitar, pulled out a sharpie, came over right in front of me and signed the guitar. He then handed it to me and said "here David, this is for you". 

Blew me away!"

Photos by Emily Morgan, DBC Rep, TN; David holds the guitar while
Dierks tries to give lessons on stage in the middle of his live show!

Congratulations, David! Wow--what a story!  Dierks never ceases to amaze us and we couldn't be happier it was one of our loyal DBC reps!

Next weekend, Dierks and Miranda will be heading to the Northeast with stops in Baltimore, MD, Reading, PA, and Atlantic City, NJ. Check out all the tour dates at dierks.com!

Dierks and The Grascals: Life Finds A Way, in at #8 For 2012

You may recall we told you about Dierks and The Grascals partnering on the song,  Life Finds A Way.  It was the number one song on the Bluegrass Today chart in April 2012.

Bluegrass Today has published their annual Top 30 report for 2012. This list shows which individual tracks received the most airplay, as reported by their participating programmers.  Check out who came in at #8!

Congrats to The Grascals and Dierks!

Photo credit: Dierks Bentley with Grascals on The Red Carpet at the 46th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards at the Ryman Auditorium on October 13, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee.

( October 13, 2008 - Source: Rick Diamond/Getty Images North America)

Recap: Dierks Bentley Performs the Capital One Bowl New Years Day 2013

They say whatever you're doing on New Year's Day is an indication of what you'll be doing all year long.  I sure hope so!

What a great way to start off 2013--with a full hour of Dierks Bentley and his talented band performing before the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida (Georgia vs. Nebraska), and two-songs at half time.

The line to the pre-game Fan Fest started at 7:30 a.m., gates opened at 9:00 and Dierks was to start at 10:30, and the game at 1 pm.  It was a beautiful 68 degree, blue sky, white cloud, Florida palm trees blowing in the breeze kind of day!

Jill's Cashbox opened at 9:15, a country/rock 6-man band from Orlando, whose songs tell the stories about life in the south.  They played a dozen or so songs, every other one an original of their own, with Jason Aldean and Kenny/Tim woven in to ensure the crowd sang along.  But they had a few local fans of their own--I saw one guy singing every word to their songs, "Somethin' Bout That" and "What We Do" I really enjoyed their set--very talented.

Jill's Cashbox

Jill's Cashbox

Jill's Cashbox

Dierks opened with Country and Cold Cans and never slowed down until Home, Come A Little Closer and Tip It On Back, and then picked up the tempo again for the rowdy crowd.  Since both teams colors were red and white, it was hard to tell them apart, but Dierks made sure to give them both equal attention throughout the hour. A few times he asked, "what time is it?  We're used to playing at 10 at night not 10 in the morning!" But they never missed a beat regardless of the early morning hour.

Just going by memory, Dierks and the guys also played Free and Easy, Feel That Fire, Lot of Leavin' Left To Do, Up On The Ridge, Every Mile a Memory, Sideways, 5-1-5-0, Am I The Only One and of course closed the show with his signature, and first number one, What Was I Thinkin'.

True to his character, Dierks spent a lot of time interacting with the entire audience and especially the front row: pointing to our DB Congress shirts and Dierks shirts (in a sea of 98 percent "red" shirts), fist bumping with the guys, and holding hands with the girls.

At one point he gave a pick to a fan and then held out his red guitar for her to play it, so she did.  Then he tried to "give" her the guitar but she wouldn't take it! Not sure he really intended to give it away, but it was a fun moment.

The audience really ate up the bluegrass--when the band came out to the end of the catwalk, the entire crowd went wild, and for Sideways they were even louder.

Brian Layson, Dierks, Cassady Feasby in 3-part harmony; Tim Sergent on Banjo

Dierks shows off Tim Sergent's banjo and Fiddlin' Dan Hochhalter's expert skills

Dierks wrote a special third verse to "Am I The Only One?" especially for the Capital One Bowl 'Dawgs and Huskers':

At one point the Direct TV blimp flew overhead and Dierks was distracted and fascinated by that.  "Look! We're on TV!"

Ashley Figueroa (@ashfig), DJ on K92 in Orlando tweeted a picture of the crowd.  Notice Meredith in the lower left corner with the DB Congress shirt on!  I was just to her left (not in the picture).

The mood turned emotional and proudly patriotic when he introduced and sang, "Home."




I don't think Dierks could decide if he wanted to wear his "Stubbs" hat forward or backward:

Steve Misamore (aka Tony) is always hiding behind that symbol!

Dierks tunes his new HD Dierks Bentley Martin Guitar named after him; he used it to play "Home."

 And the final bow:

Look Up, Dierks!

Then for the half-time show, they rolled out the stage as soon as the marching bands left the field, Dierks and the guys walked on, and they started singing right away - Am I The Only One and 5-1-5-0 (sorry I ran out of memory).  It was over way too soon!



Dierks is performing in Florida again on Sunday, January 6 in Miami.

 

2013 Capital One Bowl: Dierks Bentley Polar Plunge

As many of you know, Dierks Bentley has a tradition of jumping in a freezing cold lake in Nashville every New Years Day. But this year he was in Orlando, Florida, so the water wasn't so cold in Lake Eola, but maybe not as clean? The cool thing is, a donation of $20,000 is going to Partner For Surgery, Fife Bentley's charity (Dierks' brother).

See for yourself: