Dierks Bentley Ohio Fan Finds Herself Front Row For Free and Easy

Dierks Bentley had the sold-out crowd singing along to his entire set during the Locked and ReLoaded Tour stop at the Ervin J. Nutter Center on Wright State University's campus in Fairborn, Ohio, Friday, February 15. Check out austin360.com for some fantastic photos! Lighting Director, Chris Reade has outdone himself with the new lighting elements!  Photo Credit: Brian Glass/Concert-Captures.Com

Beth Coats was there--front and center!

"I have been a fan of Dierks since 2007. When my sister turned 16, I took her to her first concert which happened to be Dierks with Keith Anderson in Fort Wayne, IN. At this past show, I loved that he debuted his new single ("I Hold On"). He talked about how one song would sum up his life. Free and Easy is my favorite song -- hands down. Every Monday, my mom, grandma, my sister and myself would go to church. On our way, we heard this song every week and it became 'our song'. I also loved that he pulled that young girl from the crowd -- showed her how to hold the guitar and strum it. Her face was priceless. Doing things like this makes an impression and that girl will never forget that show!"

Thanks for sharing your story, Beth!  Enjoy some of her photos below:

Thomas Rhett, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, Cassady Feasby on the washboard

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)