LITTLE ROCK — Country singer Dierks Bentley, who now lives in Nashville, Tenn., has performed in Nashville, Ark., but has never been in nearby Dierks, the city from which his name originated. The town was named for some of Bentley’s ancestors, who started their lumber company in 1900 and sold it to Weyerhaeuser Corp. in 1969 (after having been the largest family-owned landholding company in the United States).
“My mom moved away, but I’ve got a sign in my garage that says ‘Dierks Lumber Co.’ over my Camaro and a motorcycle,” Bentley says. “But I’m glad to get back to Little Rock to play and maybe see some of my relatives.”
Bentley is still on a tour that began last year titled “Country and Cold Cans,” which he explains refers to anything “domestic, light, cold and free.” In other words, no particular beer sponsorship is part of the deal. He’s promoting his current album, Home, released three months ago. Already, the album is home, so to speak, to two No. 1 singles: “Am I the Only One” and the title cut.
The album is the first Bentley CD on which he did not write all of the songs — only six of the 12 are his compositions. One of the outside writers, Jamie Hartford, the son of John Hartford, penned “When You Gonna Come Around,” a duet with Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town.
On the album’s final cut, “Thinking of You,” the sound of a child singing along is heard, which Bentley says came as a surprise to him.
“That’s my little girl, Evie, who was 3 last year when we recorded that,” he says. “It was sort of spontaneous, how the band played a trick on me, and added her part in.”
Bentley and his wife, Cassidy, also have another daughter, Jordan, born Christmas 2010.
Bentley, 36, was born in Phoenix and graduated in 1997 from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He got a head start on his country music career with a job at The Nashville Network (now Spike) examining old footage of country music performances. In 2001, he released his first album, Don’t Leave Me in Love, which created few waves but led to his move to Capitol Records for his self-titled second album, released in 2003.
The album contained his first No. 1 hit, “What Was I Thinkin’,” and his subsequent six albums — Modern Day Drifter in 2005, Long Trip Alone in 2006, Greatest Hits: Every Mile a Memory 2003-2008 in 2008, Feel That Fire in 2009, Up on the Ridge in 2010 and Home on Feb. 7 — have contained eight additional No. 1 singles, plus five more that made it to the Top 5.
In 2004, the Academy of Country Music named Bentley its Top New Artist, and in 2005, the country music industry bestowed two more major nods to Bentley’s talents: the Horizon Award (for top new artist) from the Country Music Association, and an invitation to membership in the Grand Ole Opry, making him its third youngest member (Carrie Underwood and Josh Turner being the two who are younger).
Up on the Ridge marked a departure from the mainstream country path Bentley had been on; he opted instead to explore the world of bluegrass, a genre with not as many fans, as it turned out. The album’s sales were nowhere near the numbers racked up by his previous Capitol albums, but don’t think that Bentley lost any sleep over that.
“I was shocked it even did that well,” Bentley says with a laugh.
A couple of new young groups will open Bentley’s show. The Eli Young Band, from Denton, Texas, takes its name from lead singer Mike Eli and guitarist James Young. They released their first album in 2002 and have since released three more, the latest of which, Life at Best, came out Aug. 16. It contains the band’s first No. 1 hit, “Crazy Girl,” named Song of the Year by the Academy of Country Music on April 1.
Opening act, native Tennesseans The Cadillac Black, refer to their sound as “country fuzz” — a “little bit country, a little bit rock and roll and a whole lot of whiskeysoaked fun.” Members are Jaren Johnston on guitar and lead vocals, Neil Mason on drums and Kelby Ray on lap steel. All three were born and raised in Nashville and met as teenagers. They have played in a succession of bands: American Bang, Llama and The Kicks.
The group has toured as an opening act for Eric Church, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Some of the band’s songs have been featured on TV shows, including House on Fox and Hart of Dixie and Vampire Diaries on CW.
Dierks Bentley
Opening acts: Eli Young Band, The Cadillac Black
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Riverfest Amphitheatre, LaHarpe Boulevard and President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock
Admission: $53, $44.50, $36.50, $33.50
(800) 745-3000
ticketmaster.com
Weekend, Pages 36 on 05/10/2012