THE FINAL STOP FOR UOTR TOUR

As you may have known, Saturday night was the last tour stop for Dierks' "Up On The Ridge" Tour with The Travelin' McCoury's. It was also being taped for PBS and GAC, and will more than likely air in a few more months. As soon as they hit the stage, everyone was on their feet....clapping and cheering for Dierks, Tim, Steve, and the Travelin' McCoury's. They started off with "Train 45", then "Free and Easy", and that broke out into a great rendition of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown".

Dierks mentioned that his wife, Cass, was "somewhere out there" in the building watching, and that his mother had flown from Arizona to be there. He told us how he had the set list worked out just right, and his mother told him before the show that he needs to do #10. He showed us how his set list had been scribbled on to make changes and work the song in.

During his set, Dierks said:

"I never want this tour to end...so many amazing nights," says Bentley. "I'm not sure what memory I will hold closest...playing that first night in Portland, seeing New York City going absolutely nuts over bluegrass music or getting to play at the Ryman this weekend with some of my best friends and biggest musical influences. It has been a once-in-a-career type of tour!"

Other familiar hits with a bluegrass edge included: "Feel That Fire", "Lot of Leavin' Left To Do", "Settle For A Slowdown", "Sideways", "Come A Little Closer", "How Am I Doin' ", and "What Was I Thinkin' ". The fiddle, banjo, mandolin and the voices of the McCoury's didn't take away, yet added so much more to the many top hits. Several new songs from the upcoming album where performed, and "Up On The Ridge" was of course one of those.


Dierks brought out special guests, the Punch Brothers, to do a few songs with them. Now, you may be familiar with one member of the band, Chris Thile. Chris was a part of the group, Nickel Creek a few years ago. Dierks, Travelin' McCoury's, and the Punch Brothers did a Bob Dylan song "Senor", which is a cut included on the new album. Dierks even let the Punch Brothers do a couple of their own as he sat to the side watching and clapping along.

Then, Dierks sure enough brought out yet another special guest. It was none other than Del McCoury. You may recognize him from singing on track number 13, "Train Travelin' ", which is on Dierks' self titled album. No, they did not sing that. Although I did hear someone in the crowd shout that soon after Del was introduced. They sang "Pride (In The Name Of Love)", which was written by U2's Bono. They also sang another song, "Good Man Like Me", which is on the album, Modern Day Drifter.

Dierks joked around with Alan, upright bass player of Travelin' McCoury's, by saying that any one could play the upright bass, and Dierks plucked a few strings on it. Alan said something like, "Yes Dierks. You just proved to me that any one can play." Then, Dierks kind of challenged Alan to throw picks into the crowd. Dierks went first, and the guitar pick went to about 7th row area, but Alan's fell short to about 2nd row.

The show wrapped up with "How Am I Doin'" and Dierks mentioned something about exes and then moved into George Strait's "All My Exes Live In Texas". Dierks stopped singing for a couple of lines, and the whole auditorium kept on singing without missing a beat. "What Was I Thinkin' " and "East Bound And Down" were the final songs of the night. The Smokey and the Bandit movie theme song had everyone up on their feet clapping and singing along.

Via Twitter from Dierks: "thx nashville. magical night for all of us and hopefully you too. perfect way to end the RIDGE tour. will miss those @trvlnmccourys #fb"

A crowd of people fled to the stage and Dierks stayed and signed from the stage for a good 20 minutes signing tickets, posters, album covers, hats, etc. There were many DBC reps at the show and he recognized that way before the end of the night and thanked us for coming when he saw us.

It was so great meeting so many familiar faces for the first time! See you all again very soon, and hope to meet many more reps at the LCB in a couple more weeks...I'm finally attending my first LCB and CMA Fest!! And I guarantee it's not the last either!

Speaking of LCB, be sure to keep an eye on your mail this week....my tickets just came in today!!!



-Amanda
DBC MS Rep
DBC Secretary

PRETTY MUCH NAILED IT -- CHARLOTTE STYLE!

Back on May 9th, some of you may remember seeing this post from Dierks on Facebook and/or Twitter:

"our tour asst brit pretty much nailed it w/ this gaff tape piece of artwork! amazing. our official tour motto."

Janet, DBC Rep in San Diego, mentioned to Nid (currently in England, soon to be DBC Rep in VA!) that it would make a great shirt. So, Nid made it into a t-shirt design over at the Dierksfans.com Store. I loved it, so I ordered one, hoping that it would make it here in time for my show at Coyote Joe's this past Friday in Charlotte. As luck would have it, it came on Thursday, so I was all set for the second-to-last show of the Up on the Ridge tour. Trust me, this is important to the story...

On Friday, I left work an hour early so we could head to Coyote Joe's with plenty of time to get in line to secure either a good table or a good spot in front of the stage. When I got there, I got to see lots of familiar faces: Sandra, Laurie, Lissa, and eventually Tammi was there for our little Greenville Reunion. :) (If there's one thing I love about a Dierks show, it's knowing I'll have friends at each one I attend. Thanks, Dierks!) After waiting out a downpour (thankfully covered) the doors opened and we went in. Unfortunately, we learned that all of the tables on the lower floor were reserved for VIPs, so we got the last table in the far corner of the balcony. I was content with that until I saw Tammi right in front of the stage, and then the urge to be close overcame me and my friend Cortney and I headed down there. Which, in retrospect, was the best decision in a while.

While we were standing around, waiting for the show to start, Tim (steel guitarist) showed up in the audience a few feet to my left. I told Sandra to get his attention so I could show him my shirt. He came over and was like, "oh my gosh, where'd you get that? Look at my little beer! That's so cool!" We got our picture taken, and he eventually went backstage again.

Now, I can only guess as to what happened when Tim went backstage, but clearly he told Brit about the shirt, because she came out onstage a few minutes later. She was standing stage left in one of the corners, and Sandra and I yelled to get her attention. She looked over at us and pointed and said "yes! That's what I was looking for!" and came over. People were staring. Oops. She told me she loved it and thought it was so cool, but asked about royalties and I started to feel bad, because I didn't want to get Nid in trouble or anything like that, but she was seriously really excited. She went and got her camera, and took some pictures, and I figured that was that. But then she came back onstage, and told me to meet her at the side of the stage, and that's when things got really surreal.

She took me into the green room -- yes -- and I walk in and there's Alan from the Travelin' McCourys who's like, "hey! It's the shirt!" and pointed to the original artwork which was hanging on the wall, which I took a picture of. Brit took a couple of pictures of me with the original and then said "I have to go show Dierks" and left. So I was just hanging in the green room with Alan and Travis who plays with Hayes Carll, and Alan was trying to pull up the Dierksfans.com Store on his iPhone. I'm pretty sure I took his iPhone from him at one point, and then realized what I was doing and where I was and just sort of stood there. Ha. Anyway, he got into the Store and was looking at all the designs and thought it was all so cool. Meanwhile, I noticed that Bad Angel was playing, and I was like, "OH! I like this song!" Alan asked where I'd heard it, and I said when Dierks did his interview on Sirius Radio they'd played that and Pride, which I also really liked. One of Dierks' roadies was in there (Pudge), and he was like, "oh, so you know Ridge, then," and I was like, "oh yes, I love it, it's been #1 on WSOC's countdown thanks to me." So Pudge told Alan to put on a new track for me, which I believe might have been Draw Me a Map. Then I babbled about how I was so excited for the CD and the new music and definitely apologized for "fangirling." Alan, though, is unbelievably nice, and was very gracious about the whole thing.

Brit came in soon after that, and Alan showed her the store. I explained that Dierksfans is just that -- fans of Dierks -- who really just want to get his name out there, and we thought the shirt was a great idea. Brit was like, "no, yeah, I love it. I want one. I just want to make sure nobody is profiting from it" so I told her to contact Nid and I was sure he'd see to it that she got one. :) After that I kind of felt ... awkward ... chilling back there so I asked Alan and Brit if I could get my picture taken with them, so we did that, I thanked them profusely, and left.


I was sort of in a state of shock after that, but made my way back to where everybody was, and just sort of took it all in. Hayes Carll came on and was just as good as he was in Greenville, and then it was getting to be time for Dierks. Alan came onstage to get his bass ready, and Laurie, Tammi and I all "woo!"-ed. He smiled, pointed at me, and said "hey! I like your shirt!" Seriously, Alan Bartram is AWESOME. Then it was just a matter of minutes before Dierks hit the stage, and boy, was Coyote Joe's rocking. I heard after the show that it was one of their all-time largest turn-outs, and they were starting to worry the Fire Marshal was going to come rolling in! Way to go, Dierks! The show rocked, as usual. During Settle for a Slowdown, Dierks caught my eye, winked, started to chuckle and shake his head, which I guess was his way of saying he liked the shirt. ;) Tim gave me a few headnods, and when Dierks did his call-out to the DB Congress, we all went crazy and Alan mouthed to me "so that's you guys, right?" Hahaha.


The show seemed to FLY by. The crowd was rowdy, as to be expected at Coyote Joe's, but they seemed really, really into it. You can tell how much it means to Dierks that people are enjoying this "change of pace." A lot more people knew Up on the Ridge than in Greenville, which was really cool. The crowd sang along loudly to Midnight Rider, and went positively nuts when Dierks rolled into All My Exes Live in Texas after How am I Doin? He closed it down with Eastbound and Down, and the crowd LOVED it. I got a setlist from Brit (and later found out that Alan had snagged one for me, too), and headed out to the bus to wait. And wait. And wait some more.

Around 1:15 or so, Alan came out and saw that I was waiting and came over to talk to me. He ran back onto the bus to get a Sharpie, and signed my setlist (it says "Rock that tee!" hee!). Then we chatted for about 10 minutes or so. We talked about the show, the new music, how much they enjoyed being on tour with Dierks and the exposure, how crappy country radio is right now, how he admires Dierks for doing this, how I write for dbcongress.com, the All-Star race (which was last night), Miles & Music (where I was supposed to be today, but a migraine kept me home), and pretty much a million other random things. He said Dierks would be out eventually, Mr. Carrie took our picture, and I let him on his way.


Finally, at close to 2, there were only about 8 of us at the bus, and Dierks left the afterparty. He came down the stairs and came right at me, and started talking to me from about 10 feet away. He told me he loved the shirt, and thought it was so cool every time he saw it in the audience. He gave me a huge hug, and said he loves his fans so much for doing stuff like that, and said the word "cool" about 40 times (he was a little on the inebriated side, but who could blame him?). He signed my setlist, and Mr. Carrie took our picture, and I thanked him again and he said 'no no, thank YOU, the shirt is awesome" and I headed on home.


And that, my friends, was my unbelievable night at Coyote Joe's.

I'll be back tomorrow with the UOTR Chart Update!

PS. Ronna, you'll have mail soon. *cryptic*

~ Carrie (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

BLUEGRASS IN THE BLIND HORSE

Hello, Congress! I am here to share my tale from the Blind Horse Saloon in Greenville, SC. :)

We got to the Blind Horse right at 6:30, which was when my Meet & Greet email told me to be there. I was fairly stressed, but it turned out that it was for nothing, so I got over it. I found Angie (choppergirl - Rep/SC) and Keesh (keesh_a_leash - Rep/NC) and we just sort of hung out and tried to figure out what was going on. There were 7 of us who'd purchased the "VIP Package" which allowed us to cut the line when the doors were opened. Funnily enough, 4 of us 7 also had Meet & Greet, which was nice. They separated the VIP ticket-holders, so we just hung out and talked. At one point, a random sing-along to Sideways broke out, complete with dancing. A few minutes after 7, they opened the doors, and we went in, got our IDs checked, our M&G passes (a pic of Jake!), and hurried to front-center stage. We'd determined outside that Keesh and Mr. Carrie would hold our spots while we went to our M&G at 8, so until then we just chilled and took lots of pics. I met Sandra (dierksdds), Laurie (hunterl5), Tammi (tammis - Rep/SC), and Kim (scmonkeyshinejovigirl), and by the time we went to line up for our M&G, we were chatting away like we'd known each other forever (and Tammi and Laurie really have, haha).

At 8 we went over to the designated place and Brittany separated us from the radio winners. We had a small group, and we were by a cooler that was filled with Bud Light. Sandra asked Brittany if we could bring Dierks a beer, but alas, it was not meant to be. Finally, it was time to head outside to see the Dude! Sandra went first and had Dierks sign the UOTR Tour shirt she'd gotten from the dierksfans.com store. Dierks commented that he'd been "seeing those shirts everywhere" and I piped up that it was "Nid from England's store." Dierks was like, "Nid's doing this?! Awesome!" and seemed genuinely impressed. Way to go, Nid!

As I was walking up to him, he told me he liked my shirt (it was from the 2006 tour), and gave me a hug. We did the picture thing, and then I told him I had something for him. I gave him one of Alicia's DBCongress decals for his guitar case, which he happily accepted and thanked me for and said he'd put on his guitar case in honor of us. Then I gave him the magnet that Renee from NY had made me last year, and he asked when the picture was taken. I told him it was from Raleigh last summer when he'd signed my yearbook, and he was like, "oh yeah! Have you lost weight? You look great." Um. I have, and thanks for noticing?! I got a little flustered after that, but quickly regrouped to see if I could get something else signed for our lovely DBC Chair, Ronna. (Surprise, Ronna!) (I'd promised to get her 2 of the limited-edition UOTR Tour posters, then had the brilliant idea to have one signed for her.) He quickly agreed, and as I was pulling the posters out, I told him that I do the chart updates for the website and he said that he "loved the site" and that we all "do such a great job with it." I thanked him for posting in our chat box and also for the tweet from the previous night -- I was so happy that I remembered everything! So he signed Ronna's poster, and then proceeded to sign mine as well. I thanked him for spoiling me and he said, "oh no, I'm the spoiled one, with fans like you guys." Aw.


After Tammi and Laurie had their M&Gs, we all gathered around for our group picture. In the back, Laurie was on one side of Dierks, and Angie was on the other. While we were getting the picture taken, Angie's phone started to vibrate, and Dierks mentioned that somebody was vibrating, and Laurie commented that she could feel it, too, through Dierks. It was the first of many funny moments. After that, he talked a little about the tour and the album, and one of us mentioned watching him on Leno. He didn't stay up to watch it, by the way, because he had a 4 am lobby call the next morning, but did watch it eventually. Sandra mentioned that she set her alarm for 11:25 pm so she could watch it, but had to sit through Jessica Simpson. Dierks then commented that Jessica's boobs are the size of her head, and when he was watching it he measured her head with his fingers and then her boobs, and yep, same size. ?! Then he commented how the dress she was wearing was obviously padded and "she doesn't need it!" He seemed to genuinely not understand why she'd use padding for anything, it was hysterical. Then we all sort of realized that we were talking with Dierks Bentley about Jessica Simpson's chest, and it got very silly for a minute. After that, he went through and gave everybody hugs -- it was over so fast! -- and when he gave me mine, he thanked me again for all the work on the website and said to keep it up. Our pleasure!

We headed back inside, linked up, and made our way back to the front of the stage, which was not that easy of a task! We only had about a 20 minute wait before Hayes Carll took the stage to get us ready for Dierks. I enjoyed his set. He was funny, and definitely set the tone for the show. His bass player, Bonnie Whitmore, has an UNREAL voice.

After a quick stage change-over, it was time for Dierks! Jason Carter (fiddle) and Rob McCoury (banjo) came out first, and started getting things going. Then Ronnie McCoury (mandolin), Dierks, and Alan Bartram (upright bass) came out. They kicked off the show with Free & Easy, which got the crowd completely pumped up and is completely awesome with a kick of bluegrass thrown in! After that, the track listing included oldies/goodies Feel That Fire, Settle for a Slowdown, Sideways, Come a Little Closer, How Am I Doin?, and What Was I Thinking. Up on the Ridge got HUGE response, and I'm proud to say that the Congress girls were right up front and yelling along to the song. The girl next to me was staring at me like, "you know this?" Haha! He also sang quite a few songs from the new album, including Rovin' Gambler, Bottle to the Bottom, and Fiddlin' Around -- which might be my new favorite song. I LOVED it. I was singing along by the end of it! But the two highlights of the show for me were his "Ode to Del McCoury" which was Good Man Like Me (!) and his 'therapy session' after How Am I Doin? which ended up being a rousing cover of All My Exes Live in Texas -- the song that introduced me to George Strait and country music. I was in heaven! It should also be noted that Dierks gave Bud Lights to Keesh, Lissa, and Sandra (who got 2) while giving a special shout-out to "the best fan club in the world which is lining the front of the stage tonight." Sandra had one of her bottles signed after the show, too, when Dierks stayed onstage for about 15 minutes or so, giving high-fives, and signing everything from boots to cell phones!

On the whole, it was a fantastic night. The show was incredible, and I left completely 100% excited for the CD. The crowd was really into it, and Dierks looked the happiest I think I've really ever seen him -- he was totally in his element, and the energy just spread throughout the place. I didn't hear anybody grumbling about how "bluegrass" the show was, or anything like that, which made me really happy. And Dierks prefaced the show by saying "if you're here to see a typical Dierks Bentley show which includes lots of drums, guitars, and me running around, you came to the wrong show." I loved it. I appreciate him so much for putting himself out there this way, and introducing us to this side of his love for music. I love getting to see what shaped him as an artist, and this tour is absolutely perfect for that.

So, Dierks, if you read this, thank you, so much for doing what you do. Thanks for being so awesome to your fans, and thanks for always making me walk away with a smile on my face. And if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be part of this awesome community of people ... and I think my life would be much emptier without them!

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

DIERKS SELLS OUT PIKE'S PEAK HOMETOWN

Colorado called Dierks Bentley's name last week, where he performed two shows back to back - Boulder and Colorado Springs. DB Congress rep, Janet, lives in Pike's Peak's backyard (The Springs), and attended both "Up On The Ridge" shows--and the Springs was sold out. Heeeeeeeere's Janet!

"No review I could write could describe the evening better than what appeared in our local paper! The last two nights were a real treat! I highly recommend everyone who has a chance to attend one of these [bluegrass] shows to do so without any reservations. You won't be disappointed! There is no glitz and glamour, and no lights (well maybe a few light bulbs) just good ole fun! Tim gave me a set list but everything is mentioned in the artice.

Despite my fall in Boulder, getting lost, getting a speeding ticket and police escort to the correct hwy, 4 hour drive back to Colo. Springs in a blizzard, and tornado warnings I'd do to all again in a heartbeat!

Dierks brought his sister, Vanessa, on stage in Boulder to introduce her to the crowd. His wife Cassidy was also in Boulder and her parents in Colorado Springs. Dierks introduced them and said that his father-in-law is an Air Force Academy alum from 1973. Dierks also called his cousin from Creed, CO on stage to perform a few songs with them and show off his banjo-playing talent.

Since no camers were allowed as the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, we used Dierks' camera for the Meet and Greet. I had him signed my 'Dierks Bentley' credit card. He was shocked, but thought it was cool--even showed it to everyone!"


My daughter, Monica, had a M&G in Boulder.


Here's an excerpt from the Gazette article:

Sloppy spring snow didn’t dampen the spirits of the 3000 largely youngish crowd attending the sold-out Dierks Bentley performance at Arnold Hall last night. Dressed mostly in cowboy/trucker or honky-tonk/cowgirl motif, the rowdy but respectful audience paid homage and got treated to a night of folk and bluegrass-laden classic country music from Dierks Bentley and friends...

After a quick stage change-over (after Hayes Carrl), Dierks Bentley and band came out on the plain understated set to a thunderous welcome most pop performers would have reveled in which had the audience literally standing for the first 14 songs, I kid you not! The overwhelmingly interesting thing about all this is that while Dierks is admittedly packing those sly country-boy good looks kind of like Matthew McConaughey evoking screams of “take off your shirt” more than once during the evening, this wasn’t some pop superstar. Tonight the music was more in support of his new album “Up On The Ridge” (Capitol Nashville, 6/2010) featuring mostly acoustic instruments performing bluegrass with some country thrown in. There weren’t flashing lights and confetti canons ala Taylor Swift, this was more reminiscent of a backyard barbecue & Appalachian style hoedown like you’d feel lucky to have stumbled across while crusin’ some little burg off route 40 out of Nashville.

And the crowd was all over it! Dancing in the aisles, screaming, everybody singing along to Bentley’s most popular tunes.... Read the rest here.

"What the reporter didn't mention was the underwear. Some girl threw a pair of thongs on stage and Dierks passed them off to one of the McCoury brothers. Just in case there was no time for laundry on this 30 day run he could go "Commanche"! Yes, there was a lot of younger audience members, but a fair share of mature concert-goers, too. I did overhear a few young girls talking after the show; apparently they didn't know it was going to be a bluegrass show and their dissapointment was evident. But they could not have been fan-clubbers or they would have known and loved it!

After the Boulder show we were all given a CD with 3 songs on it.

Dierks also said each show will be different and there were some changes. I was hoping for Train Travelin' and Prodigal Son's Prayer but it wasn't to be."

Thanks for sharing, Janet! What a unique 'peak' experience!

~Ronna

FACEBOOK PICS FROM DIERKS IN COLORADO

Dierks Bentley wowed crowds in Colorado and continues his own DRT (Dierks Road Trip) with the Travelin' McCoury's in Austin tonight, and then his Miles and Music For Kids charity event at Billy Bob's tomorrow. These are few pics he posted from the road. According to Dierks, The pic above is "havin' fun - jason carter" and below, "what my gtr case wants to be when it grows up. pls bring stickers to austin show today."

DIERKS SINGS THE SPRINGS TONIGHT, THE PARISH TOMORROW

Tonight, Dierks Bentley continues his Up On The Ridge pre-album release tour in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the snow is falling in late April, as seen from his windshield (Facebook):

Tomorrow night, Bentley and the Travelin’ McCourys, will travel to Austin and perform at The Parish. Austin360.com asked DB a few questions about the new material, the tour and his tourmates.

American-Statesman: You anchor the new album’s title track on a traditional bluegrass theme: escaping to the countryside.

Bentley: On the road, a lot of the time all I’m thinking about during the day is, “Man, I wish I was out in the woods somewhere by a lake and not stuck on the asphalt.” It’s about the need to get away and have fun.

Was your creative process different from recording a straight country album?

Yeah. The process was really different for me. I didn’t work with any of the people that I’ve worked with in the past as far as writing or production goes. Making that break was important creatively. I cut more outside songs on this record. I’m a big Shawn Camp fan, and I knew I wanted to cut a couple of his (“Fallin’ For You,” “Fiddlin’ Around”).

What drew you to the (Kris) Kristofferson song (‘From the Bottle to the Bottom’)?

There are just no gaps at all in that song’s alliteration and pentameter and meter. It’s tight, so well-written. Cutting that song was a great moment and a great memory. When we were in the studio, (Kristofferson) said to me, “Next time I write a song like this, remind me not to put so many (expletive) words in it.” That chorus does take a big breath of air to get through (laughs).

How do you expect this new material to translate at The Parish?

It’ll be a dynamic show. I think my hardcore fans will love the new sound and the casual country fans hopefully will like it. If not, maybe they’ll respect that it’s something different and not the same old, same old.

Was it your decision to tour the album at such intimate venues?

I like playing smaller rooms. I love playing amphitheaters and fairs and all that stuff, but I love variety. We’re gonna do what I got into this business to do: Get on a bus and play some music. I want to get one bus and one band and one crew and play fun, cool places that I don’t get a chance to play anymore.

You and the McCourys are old friends, right?

I was at (banjoist) Rob (McCoury)’s wedding, and I was one of the (groomsmen) at (fiddler) Jason Carter’s wedding. I’ve known those guys since I moved to Nashville in 1994. I feel lucky and honored to play the host, to bring these guys and their music to my audience. They’re some of the greatest musicians in the world.

When did you meet (tour opener and Austin resident) Hayes (Carll)?

I discovered Hayes in Canada when we played some festival. I walked over to the side of the stage and saw this guy playing at 12:30 in the day, and figured he must be a local. It sure looked like an Austin band, though. He launched into (“She Left Me for Jesus”), and I was just dying over in the corner, going, “Oh my gosh, he’s gonna get killed!”

MUSIC HALL HAD EYE ON DIERKS

One of Dierks Bentley's Up On The Ridge tour stops is The Music Hall on May 7 in Portsmouth, New Hamphshire, featuring The Travelin' McCourys with special guest Hayes Carll. We have at least four NH DB Congress reps, but I know there's a lot more Dierks fans in the New England area looking forward to this show!

Seacoastonline.com refers to Bentley as a rising new country/bluegrass star. The Music Hall's Intimately Yours concert series programming manager, Therese LaGamma, said, "We've had our eye on Dierks for some time — watching his evolution. We're particularly impressed that he doesn't just repeat his successes — e.g.: on this tour, instead of bringing his country band, he's going to be backed by The Travelin' McCourys."