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 Sells Out Red Rocks! DB Congress Reps Came From Near and Far!

"This is what 8000 cell phones looks like #RedRocks"
Tweeted by Jay Ballinger

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a geological phenomenon – the only naturally-occurring, acoustically perfect amphitheatre in the world, with an elevation of 6,450 feet in Morrison, Colorado.  It literally and figuratively takes your breath away.  From Sting and The Beatles, to opera stars and U2, every artist aspires to play on this magical, spiritual and emotional stage.

Dierks Bentley has performed at Red Rocks twice before and I was there both times!  This year, on August 16, 2012, he sold out ALL 9,450 seats and I'm sad to say I wasn't in one of them!  But many of our DB Congress family were!  Dierks was excited to say the least and went on a Twitter picture spree:

"i have been thinking about seeing this view again for a long time"

"9,450 of you joined us for the completely sold out show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO. Here's a great shot!" 

"red rocks magic. thank you"

Long term Colorado DB Congress rep, Janet Cornish, shared with us her top three highlights of the Red Rocks show:  

1. The performance with Evie (Dierks' daughter) was a special treat--brought Dierks to tears as well as "My Last Name" being it was his dad's birthday. 
2. Pat Green coming out during his set and said "Hey y'all Bentley sold out Red Rocks."   That's all he said and left the stage. Of course Dierks was bubbling with the sell out.
3. All the cell phones lit up during "Home." It was a special sight to see. 

Janet also attended the Sterling, CO Dierks show the week before and had a run in with some "special" drunk college kids. 

"A fight broke out which involved me. Some girl decided to pull my hair so I would move. But Monica (her daughter) and the people around us got me out of the way before they punched. After they pulled my hair the girl standing behind Monica grabbed the girl by the hair and pulled her to the ground. Monica got punched in the arm trying to get me out of the way before they got her out of there. Dierks watched the whole thing unfold right in front of his microphone.  During the M&G at Red Rocks, Dierks asked Monica if we were okay and said he was sorry for the rude behavior. Now how sweet was that! Monica said we were all fine and the worse part was 'they picked her favorite song to start trouble'."  

That favorite song was "Tip It On Back," which should have helped those "special" concert-goers to mellow out--it didn't.

Kathy Butler flew in from Indiana and met up with fellow DB Congress reps David Mattingly (KY), and Heather Jensky (IL).  

"The highlight of my trip was just being there at Red Rocks with my DB Congress friends who are as passionate as I am about Dierks' music," says Kathy. "Of course seeing Evie on stage was special and the fact that it was D's dad's 89th birthday seemed to make him more emotional." We actually knew he was going to do "Thinking of You" because earlier while we were having lunch we could hear him rehearsing it. The cell phones all lit up made for cool pictures."

Heather, David, and Kathy at Red Rocks - 8-16-12

David, Heather and Kathy met at the Denver airport, then jumped in a rental car and drove three hours to the August 15 Wyoming show. "It didn't have the scenic view of Red Rocks but it was a sold out State Fair show that housed 4,500 fans," David remarked.  "D showed us lots of love that night, letting us sing into the mic, and slapping hands all night long. And chatting with Cassady (Feasby, bassist) is always big fun! We were totally exhausted by the time we arrived back to our rooms at 5:50 am."

The next day is a memory David say he will forever cherish. "Learning some of the history of Red Rocks was interesting to me. Just so glad that I got to witness my favorite artist at this historical venue. You could tell he was having a blast! The rock formations made for some awesome lighting effects - loved that! It was all kind of surreal at the time, but it is a memory that will last forever. Dierks said he can't wait to go back and I can't wait to see him there again!"

Dierks and daughter Evie sing "Thinking Of You" from his Home album.  This is only the second time he's had her on stage singing with him.  The first being at his Home CD release party at the Ryman.

DBTV Episode 76 features Dierks and his band at Red Rocks - running up the steps before the show:

~Ronna
DB Congress Chair

Dierks Bentley Congress Feel Fellow Fan Clubbers Are Like Family

Kentucky Dierks Bentley Congress rep, David Mattingly, brought Randy Alan (DBC rep in PA) along to Last Call Ball 7 (Dierks' annual fan club party June 8, 2011 in Nashville), but Randy wasn't physically there--he hung around David's neck all night as the background photo of the commemorative admission lanyard!

Randy wasn’t able to attend, but when he realized it was his camera Dierks is holding in the lanyard photo, and Randy himself is in the background, he knew he had to have a commemorative LCB7 ticket. After all, he is a part of history!

David found out and here’s what he had to say in an email to Randy:

Hi Randy,
My name is David Mattingly and I am a proud member of the DBC (david915) representing Kentucky. I read a post about you wanting a ticket from this past LCB. What is coincidental about this is that I can remember the day I got that ticket in the mail. I looked at it and thought "wouldn't that be cool to be one of those people in the background."  So in a strange way, that is why I have no problem at all in giving you my ticket from LCB. And so cool as well that it's your camera that he has in his hand! Just send me your mailing address and I'll get it in the mail soon.

Dierks and David at LCB7



Randy Alan with LCB7 lanyard from David, pointing to himself

It's moments like these that make me so proud to be a part of the Dierks Bentley Congress! Fan-clubbers helping fan-clubbers—one big DB family!

“I feel the same way,” replies Randy. “Everyone that is part of the DBC or who is just a Dierks fan is a part of this great big family. That's one thing I love about all us Dierks fans is that we all help each other out.”

Randy became a Dierks fan when he first heard the song, “What was I Thinkin'” back in 2004, which was about when he got into country music.

From that point on Dierks' music helped me get through a lot of broken relationships and other issues in life. His music always depicted what I was going through. That in itself really made me feel more connected with Dierks' music.

“I'll be honest,” he continues, “the reason I joined the fan club was for a meet and greet ticket, and for $9.99 a year you can't beat that! But then after joining (and receiving the M&G) I realized how awesome this DB family is, and that we all look after one another.”

“Before joining the fan club I was a part of the "Wolf Pack" which was the group of Dierks fans that watched his Ustream of making the album in Asheville. From that point on I really got involved with talking to other Dierks fans. I met so many awesome people that I know today and we all share a passion for DB's music.

Being an artist hisself, and getting the chance to talk with Dierks about his music at the Meet & Greet really encouraged Randy to keep going.

“At the time of the meet and greet, I was in the middle of recording my album and told Dierks about it. He even let me play some samples of my music and I told him to check out my Ustream of recording live in the studio. He said I had a great voice and was looking forward to hearing more stuff from me in the future.

As an artist, Dierks’ music has influenced the way my music/lyrics are, and how I perform on stage. I've seen Dierks four times in concert, and I learn new things every time I go. The way he includes the audience and moves around on stage; these are things that I incorporate into my show and is probably why I have been getting great feedback and attendance rates.

Just to be able to meet him and talk with him about music in itself was incredible and a memory that I'll never forget. Even the fact that every show of his I attend he somehow manages to take my camera and take a picture with it. I can only hope one day that I would get to open for Dierks and get to know him better. But like his song says, free and easy down the road I go. I'll keep going until I get where I want to be.

Call me a hardcore Dierks fan or not, he has changed my life and helped push me to achieve my music goals. Thanks DB!”

Here is the video when Dierks took the camera from Randy (sorry there's a lot of static at the beginning):



Check out Randy Alan and his music here:
Website: http://www.randyalan.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/randyalanmusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/randyalan99
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/randyalan99


~Ronna
DB Congress Chair
Florida