As 2015 comes to a close, we asked Dierks Bentley fans to share with us their favorite moment or Dierks experience over the last twelve months. We know it was hard to name just one, since every mile for Dierks is a memory!
Deborah Jane Power: Dierks Bentley worked hard to touch my finger at Miles and Music 2015! Pretty awesome that he took the time for a different way to "connect!"
Cecia Guidry Benoit: My #1 Dierks Bentley experience this year was from September 18, 2015 in New Orleans at Champion Square when Dierks pulled me on stage with him during "Drunk On A Plane!" We danced, sang, fist pumped (rockin like a G6!) and I even got to take a bow with him and the band since it was the last song of the show! This was truly my best Dierks experience ever!
Becky McBride Wierzbicki: My 62nd Birthday at LCB and MM10 on November 1, 2015 It is a birthday I will never forget...so much fun. Hanging out with Brian Layson and Cassady Feasby after LCB. Spent my time in Nashville with great DB Congress friends Ann Gray Tate and Jane Sumner. Saturday night card signing was incredible.
Ann Gray Tate: My favorite concert of 2015 was in Birmingham, Alabama. I got to enjoy it with all of my family that I love. We have 3 generations of Dierks' fans. Julie, Lamar, LeAnna, Grayson, Renea, Chris, Kaitlyn and Blakley and of course me. What a fun night we had with Dierks and the band.
Marilyn Kline Stevens: Mine was Tampa, FL, Sounds Of Summer Tour. Dierks came down on the floor and as he ran up on stage he gave me a high five....he probably doesn't remember, BUT, I always will....♡ dierks!
Brittney Lynn: When he came to Montana this summer and I was star struck I couldn't tell him how awesome he is!
Heather Ashley: Attending my first LCB (Last Call Ball fan club party) and meeting Dierks for the first time.
Grace Lenehan: When he posted my cover video. Still can't believe it!
As for me, 2015 brought so many great Dierks memories, like presenting him with the 10th anniversary giftand the Raleigh Pyro Patrolto kick off the Sounds of Summer Tour, but one little moment in time made a big impact on me. In Tampa, at an outdoor amphitheater on July 2--it was at least 90 degrees. Dierks saw me dying of heat in the pit. When 20k hear Dierks Bentley ask you, by name, if you need a bottle of water...and then hands one to you...and then the set list.
Dierks Bentley and his fans have a lot to celebrate looking back on 2015! We remember 27 (as in '27 days I've been out on the road'... from Heart Of A Lonely Girl, Dierks' "Home" album) special memories and accomplishments throughout the year by Country's Hottest Guy, according to People. Let us know if we missed any!
On Super Bowl Sunday, Bentley’s performance from the official NFL Tailgate was televised as part of NBC’s pre-game show in his home town of Phoenix, AZ.
Bentley Announces 2015 Sounds Of Summer Tour With a Polar Plunge Boot Camp for his tour mates - Kip Moore, Maddie and Tae, and Canaan Smith.
Dierks Bentley Nominated for Lucky 7 Academy of Country Music Awards! Wins Video of the Year for Drunk On A Plane (27 million views on YouTube). DOAP catapults our prez to a career-high, replacing "What Was I Thinkin'" as the last song in the set list each night.
ACM Awards Live performance of "Riser."
DBCongress.com turns 6! On February 1, 2009, our welcome postproclaimed our mission: to actively campaign to make and keep Dierks Bentley #1! That remains our daily Dierks duty today, now with 802 DBC representatives in all 50 states and 12 countries, 1,288 Facebook Likes and 5,300 Twitter followers!
Dierks launches the sexy #SayYouDo music video, featuring all his favorite things--flying, motorcycles, wine and the woods.
Feb 8: Dierks nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Album ("Riser")! Miranda Lambert takes the win for "Platinum."
Feb 27 - Hot Country Knightsdebuted - a little side project for Dierks and the guys playing as a 90's country cover band, starring DB's alter ego 'Big Rhythm Doug.' One song in particular earned recognition from Shania Twain!
May 4 - Say You Do becomes third consecutive multi-week #1 single (following I Hold On and Drunk On A Plane)--historic in that it is the first single Dierks had ever released that he did not write. Country Weekly featured #SayYouDo as a story behind the song article --writers Shane McAnally, and Old Dominion members Matt Ramsey and Trevor Rosen.
Dierks Bentley Kicks Off "HOT" Sounds Of Summer Tour in Raleigh; DB Congress "Pyro Patrol" Fans The Flames.
Whoa! @DierksBentley is THE cover of People magazine and Country's Hottest Guy! Sort of. He was the cover of a 32-page special country insert in the June 15 issue.
Dierks named a 2015 Nashville Power Player and lands on the cover of Billboard magazine!
Dierks kicks off Macy's 4th of July Spectacular: "That flag represents the things that a lot of folks don't have...freedom first and foremost. There are so many folks around the world that see that flag and they just want a little piece, a little taste of that freedom that we have here, so to me it's the greatest country in the world."
Riser music video released in August. The treatment, directed by Wes Edwards, features a homeless mom and her kids who rise above adversity with they help of Nashville-based, Safe Haven.
We posted exclusive DB Congress Interviews: Behind the Scenes with "The Mom" and "The Daughter" in Dierks Bentley's "Riser" Music Video.
Dierks Bentley Nominated for CMA Male Vocalist of the Year 2015. Chris Stapleton had a clean sweep, taking Male Vocalist, New Artist and Album of the Year.
Date night for @DierksBentley and wife Cass lands him on stagewith Taylor Swift.
Dierks Bentley Featured as "the singer" in Charles Kelley's "The Driver." The song--sang as a trio with Charles, Dierks and Eric Paslay, was nominated for a Grammy--Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
Experiencing a Dierks Bentley performance live and in person is a feeling hard to put into words. It's more than just our favorite artist and his vocal prowess and connection with the crowd--although that is the main attraction.
It's also about the anticipation--before he even hits the stage. It's the moment the lights go dark, the music cues and your heart drops. The huge video screen starts flashing images, then with a bang, the Dierks Bentley curtain drops and 12 guys run across the stage, gathering it all up in 10 seconds flat, while fireworks make you jump with excitement. Then the guys in the band appear on stage and we cheer for each--Steve Misamore on drums, Brian Layson, lead guitar, Cassady Feasby on bass, Tim Sergent, steel/banjo and Dan Hochhalter, fiddle. And suddenly, there he is--at the top of the riser--the dude himself.
It takes a well-oiled machine to bring all those elements together in one big spectacular moment that doesn't stop for 90 minutes. It takes Team Dude, Inc.
Two of the team members were recognized this year by the CMA SRO Awards. The Standing Room Only awards are a division of the CMA for those involved in touring.
Fiddle player, Dan Hochhalter (@FiddlinDan on Twitter), was nominated for Touring Musician of the Year. Although we think he should have won, the award went to Jenee Fleenor, who, according to Dan is a "fantastic fiddle player out with Blake Shelton."
James "Pugs" McDermott was nominated and won for Front of House (FOH) Engineer of the Year!
“Our touring industry members are on the frontline, every day taking our music directly to the fans in small clubs, stadiums, and everything in between,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Their hard work and many contributions to the success of the format deserve attention and a standing ovation.”
Congratulations, Pugs!
Pictured (L-R): Jay DeMarcus, James McDermott, Dierks Bentley. Photo: Donn Jones
Thank you Crystal Hochhalter for posting these Team Dude, Inc, photos!
Team Dude, Inc at the #SROAwards. Dan was up for Touring Musician of the Year! Congrats to Pugs on his win
So how do a bunch of fans help celebrate Dierks Bentley turning 40? By buying him a gently-used pair of old boots and lots of duct tape, that’s how!
As you may know, Dierks literally wears his shoes until they're falling apart, with holes in them, applying fresh duct tape before every show as necessary. He also loves old vintage items, from clothing to cars. So what better present to get him than a pair of old Vietnam combat boots, complete with several rolls of duct tape for future patching. (Tom and Jay, you don’t have to hide the extra duct tape—Dierks has his own supply now).
The idea to get Dierks new/(old) boots came about after Miles and Music for Kids 2015 and Last Call Ball, November 1. We knew that Dierks was finally retiring his “Riser Tour” boots from his Instagram post:
"the WWII boots ive been wearing since the #riser tour. previous owner named Lipman. duct taped heal. 4 shows to go."
Then at Last Call Ball, DB Congress presented him with a gift commemorating his 10th year of MM4K and when we asked him to guess what it was, he said, "A new pair of boots?" (Nope, a specially engraved motorcycle derby).
This gave several DB Congress members a thought…replace the boots.
North Carolina DB Congress member, Adrian Taylor, formed a Facebook group and the plan was put into action. Fans from all across the USA and Canada came together and contributed toward the cost of buying boots and duct tape for Dierks. Everyone who donated wrote messages that Adrian added to his birthday card.
Meanwhile, during the search for the perfect pair of boots, a local Nashville team was conspiring to arrange a time to surprise Dierks to present the special package.
The plan was to give the gift to Dierks on his birthday (November 20). However, since this was a big milestone birthday for our President--the big 4-0--Dierks took the weekend off to celebrate. Can't blame him there.
So, ten days later, on November 30th, with the help of Stephanie from The Green Room PR, we were able to surprise Dierks with his "slightly worn but vintage combat boots."
In the video, Dierks is seen with his long time companion, Jake, opening the package. Adrian did the wrapping and wanted to make sure it was a challenge for him to get to the actual boots, "so I used the strongest industrial tape I could find. Sorry Dierks, but we had to make it hard for you!"
"Jake, this is from DB Congress. This is...so cool...package #1...thank you guys...Whoa! This is...a new pair of boots! These are good boots! WOW! I'm actually...I am actually totally shocked because I've been online looking for some new boots...laughs....wow! These are...I mean...I am shocked! These are some really nice boots!...WOW! Let's give 'em a shot! Gosh...I mean I think they fit...I think they fit pretty good. The old ones need to go away. I mean it's like a really, perfect fit. Such a nice gift, y'all. Thank you guys so much! These are great boots! I'm shocked! Thank you so much!"
You don't have to look any more Dierks! These old boots still got a lot of ground they ain't covered yet!
Thank you to all who helped make this a special 40th birthday for Dierks! He really seemed to be surprised and according to Stephanie after the video ended be kept complementing the boots saying how nice they were--and they fit perfectly!
Who's excited to see the boots on stage next year?
Many people ask us, why do you go see Dierks so many times--haven't you already seen the show? The answer is easy--because it's Dierks! Seeing him 100 times would not be enough. But last weekend was extra special. His 10th annual Miles and Music For Kids charity motorcycle ride and concert event raised $636,479 for Vanderbilt Children's Hospital--nearly double last year's efforts--and we were fortunate to be a small part of that on Sunday, November 1, 2015!
Every year it's the highlight of our year, no matter how many Dierks shows we attend--this is the BIG one! The one that gives back and helps so many kids! A DB Congress tradition is to "hold session" at Joe's Crab Shack in downtown Nashville, 'MM4K Eve.' The gathering is typically about 20-25 DBC reps, but this year we exceeded 50 people--double our usual attendance! The main event--signing specially-made get well cards for the kids at Vanderbilt Hospital, complete with a DB guitar pick.
DB Congress rep and card signing organizer, David Mattingly (KY) had this to say:
"[Dierks'] passion for the Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt is remarkable and there is nothing phony about it. Through the years I've met some great friends from all over the country and Canada, too. I can feel their passion to help the children of the hospital when they show up each year to sign get well cards the night before. They come from all over and they could be out on lower Broadway in the honky tonks [not to mention out celebrating Halloween], but they choose to do one small thing to maybe put a smile on a child's face--to put their name and state on a simple "Get Well" card.
This year, 51 people from 22 States/Canada showed up to do just that. But the child with the biggest smile wasn't a patient of the hospital......because it was me. I just can't describe how it felt to watch all these people come together and complete this somewhat confusing task. Getting 51 people to sign their name on 250 cards can be challenging. But they came together and got it done. A very fun night and memory sharing was the perfect way to start the weekend. The next day I was honored to present the cards to the President of the hospital. Yes, the President! He smiled as I handed him the box of cards and told me that he knew what they were. He said they look forward to them every year and assured me they would get put to good use. That means so much to us and I want to personally "Thank" all of you who chipped in, in every small way to pull this off."
Long-time fan clubber and DBC rep for Alabama, Ann Tate replied:
One rep, Jacinta Hilgeman (IN), was hoping to be there but instead stayed home to be with her son who was just diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and had surgery to repair it on Oct 20. "Although we did not go to Vanderbilt for the surgery, this makes me want to take part in this event even more so now! These hospitals that specialize in caring for kids are so wonderful and make families feel so well taken care of! I now know this from personal experience. I also applaud every single fan club member who took part in this, I know it means the world to those kids and their families! I hope to be right there with you all next year!"
There are many worthy causes that help a lot of people, and we choose to support Dierks year after year because of the person his is, the relationship he has with his fans and his sincere and humble caring heart that keeps on giving.
Proof of that humbleness came after the check presentation on Ascend Amphitheater stage.
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley
He told the crowd he was up for a CMA Male Vocalist of the Year on Wednesday, but that even if he won that, this night 'for the kids' would always mean way more to him.
According to People, "At one point Bentley called daughter Evie over to meet a fan of his who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair.
"Evie [his oldest daugther, 7, born the night before MM4K 2008] is starting to realize there are people who are sick beyond what she may think of as sick and she's starting to ask those bigger questions – we'll talk about cancer and what's chemotherapy and she's starting to think about mortality, really," says Bentley, who adds that he's thinking of taking her with him soon to visit – and sing to – hospital patients. "These are important things for her to see. Probably more important than watching me win a CMA Award.""
Before revealing the total dollars raised, Dierks told the crowd he was hoping to beat last year's $335k, and was guessing it would be around $405k. He was blown away when the check was turned around. "That's a damn 6" he yelled incredulously!
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. Dierks Bentley points to the check for $636,479
One lady bid and won an autographed guitar for $45,000--she told MC/auctioneer Storme Warren (Sirius XM The Highway), that she was donating the money in honor of her husband who died in a motorcycle accident last Monday.
Photo by Takara Dingley
Earlier that morning, our president found time to treat 350 of his fan club members to a Last Call Ball (fan club party usually held in June), that doubled as a fundraiser for MM4K10. Joined by Fiddlin Dan Hochhalter, bassist Cassady Feasby and lead guitarist Brian Layson, Dierks and the guys delivered an easy going conversation/acoustic jam session. He explained that drummer Steve Misamore and steel guitarist Tim Sergent were setting up for the evening concert.
Photo credit: Takara Dingley. Brian Layson, Cassady Feasby, Dierks Bentley, Dan Hochhalter help explain the definition of "Sweetkill" on Cassady's shirt as texted to Dan by Steve Misamore
After three songs (Am I The Only One, Free And Easy and 5-1-5-0) and a long explanation of bass player Cassady Feasby's "Sweetkill" shirt (above), Meredith Mauer (SC rep) and I were honored to be able to present to him on stage a gigantic card signed by all who contributed to the "10 year" commemorative gift of aluminum.
Photo Credit: The Country Sip/Vanessa Storm Photography
In case you missed it on our live broadcast on Periscope "We interrupt this broadcast..."
(video credit: Takara Dingley):
We'd like to see if you know what it is first.
A new pair of boots that don't have duct tape?
A hub cap? A motorcycle plate?
The 10th anniversary gift is normally tin or aluminum.
You know it's my 10th anniversary (to wife Cassidy) coming up this year, I had no idea.
No it's not a hub cap--it's a motorcycle derby!
Thank you guys, I'm gonna put it on today when I get down there!
After the presentation, they closed out with I Hold on, Riser, and Drunk On A Plane, followed by a meet and greet with the top 10 fundraisers, and then he was off to the Harley-Davidson of Columbia to start the ride portion of the day!
Sandwiched in between LCB and the concert was the motorcycle ride. Debbie Hale, DBC rep (IL), was among the 2000+ riders for the cause!
"I have attended this event every year for the past 10 years and was finally able to participate in the motorcycle ride! Dierks leads the pack from Columbia, TN to downtown Nashville and the day concludes with a concert. This year it was at the new Ascend Ampitheatre. Great venue! Everyone together has raised over $3M to benefit the Vanderbilt Monroe Carrell Children's Hospital. Dierks always says it's not him but all of us who participate. His name is just associated with it. Started the day with a short Fan Club Party at the Hard Rock Cafe. At the dealership. I made a shirt with pix from all 9 M&M events and one of me on my bike for the 10th one. Dierks autographed it!"
Photo Credit: Debbie Hale. Dierks at Harley-Davidson of Columbia
Photo Credit: Debbie Hale. Dierks' bike for the ride - Indian Scout
Bentley's band of brothers are ridiculously talented! I mean, 5-1-5-0 crazy good! Not only did they perform in the morning at LCB and then with Dierks to close out the concert, but they were THE back up band for the other artists and they sounded amazing!
The Rolling Stone wrote: "The concert itself was a casual affair, with Bentley's band filling in for the other artist's groups. Each one played three or four songs as Bentley’s band nailed the hooks to Swindell’s "Let Me See Ya Girl," Rhett's "Die a Happy Man" and FGL's "Anything Goes" — which was even surprising to the duo's Tyler Hubbard. "Thanks for making that a Number One song this week," he said as "Anything Goes" came to its snarling end. “And thanks to this band. We've really had zero rehearsal, we've never done this together and didn't even sound check."
Photo credit: Debbie Hale. Brian Kelly, Tim Sergent on banjo (DB), and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. Brooke Eden
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. Canaan Smith toured with Dierks this summer
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. The Cadillac Three performed White Lightning
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. Cole Swindell
Dierks and his band (who had been playing all night) hit the stage with Sideways and played a full hour set, complete with Up On The Ridge fire and Riser. He declared Dalton as the Riser of the night, the boy he met as a 2-year-old nine years ago and he is still going strong thanks to Dierks and Miles and Music's support of the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. Dierks and Dan Hochhalter
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. Cassady Feasby, Brian Layson, Dierks Bentley
Photo Credit: Takara Dingley. Brian Layson, Dierks
Dalton's "Riser" video--this is what it's all about!
Way to go, Dalton! We're so happy to support Dierks' Miles and Music For Kids event year after year to help Vanderbilt's Childrens Hospital so you can continue to be a survivor and a riser and live a long and happy life!
The morning after, we were having breakfast at our hotel and the Food and Beverage manager, Jermaine Dunlap, (aka James), stopped by our table. He asked about the concert and we told him how much was raised for Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. He told us how he supports John Rich and St. Jude's every year, but that his own son had to use Vanderbilt to have kidney surgery. He said the total was over $105,000 and he went to family and friends to try to figure out how to pay that bill. The next day, he met with hospital staff and was told an anonymous donor had taken care of it. He then realized that events like Dierks' Miles and Music For Kids goes a long way in helping families cover the cost of saving their child's life. Jermaine then vowed to support MM4K every year! That's what it's all about!
