The path less traveled is �Up on the Ridge�

(courtesy of Dave Hogg)

Dierks Bentley is not your average country star. Yes, some of his songs are about losing women, drinking beer and driving trucks, but there�s more to this modern day drifter than a southern drawl and cowboy boots.

At the top of his career, Bentley is taking a turn on his highly-successful path to pursue a daring project. In the �Up on the Ridge� tour, and album of the same name out June 9, Bentley has gone back to the roots that got him started in Nashville: bluegrass. And he�s recruited friends, the Travelin� McCourys of the prominent Del McCoury Band, among other bluegrass and country artists to help him chase a dream.

The “Up on the Ridge” tour stops in Boulder on April 22 at the Boulder Theatre. Hayes Carll opens before Dierks and The Travelin� McCourys take the main stage.

The CU:Independent talked to Dierks about the upcoming tour, album, and what goes on backstage before a live show.

CU:Independent: You�ve been in bluegrass ever since you started out in Nashville, but what really pushed you to take on this project right now?

Dierks Bentley: I think it just comes at the right time. I spent a lot of last year playing big amphitheatres and stuff and I felt like it was time to get off the road and make this record at home�.I just wanted to go back in and expand on that music so it just felt like the right time to do it. I don�t know if it�s the smartest thing in the world to stop the train and start something up doing something totally different, but for me, musically, I want to take a chance and try something different. I gotta keep things fresh for me sometimes.

CU:I: What�s it been like working with the Del McCoury Band?

DB: It�s insane. I walked into the station and the first guys I met were Jason Carter, the fiddle player, and Ronnie and Rob McCoury. They were all playing in this band call the Sidebenders� and they played at this bar called the Station Inn [in Nashville]. I became great friends with those guys and played a couple of their weddings. I�ve known them for about 14, 15 years now. You know, just the chance to hang out on and off the stage for a whole month is going to be the coolest thing ever. I have so much respect for them as a band, they�ve won about nine International Association of Bluegrass awards, entertainers of the year. Most of all, they�re just great dudes. They�re so much fun to be around and hang out with, it�s just constant laughs. It�s been a career highlight for me.

CU:I: Are there any surprising artists you draw inspiration from that your audience wouldn�t really expect?

DB: With the record coming out I�ve got a Kris Kristofferson song, a U2 song, and so I think those influences are on there. Bands like Pearl Jam that really have that energy. I always try to take that energy from a rock band and fuse it into country and the country-bluegrass stuff we�re doing now. But yeah, there�s definitely interest beyond the country and we�ll show that in the live show.

CU:I: What role do you think traditional country plays now in today�s mainstream country?

DB: I don�t know. It�s not really my world, but guys like Josh Turner are holding that down a little bit. You know, country music is so broad. The range is so crazy-wide � pop, rock, traditional. It�s kind of all over the place. I think it�s something that�s really good � a broad format, there�s room for everything.

CU:I You have Sam Bush, Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert on this album- you had all these great artists help you out with this album. How did you get them all to help you out and what made you pick certain artists?

DB: I�m honestly just really lucky. I know Alison Krauss, I know Sam Bush, I just know all of them from being around bluegrass for a while. I know Tim O�Brien. I knew I could call up some collaborators and make this record. It would not be the record it is without [producer] John Randall [Stewart]. He�s played with all these people. He�s one of my best friends. I just finally asked him. He brought a lot of great songs to the table, we wrote stuff together. It�s not a traditional bluegrass circuit by any means; it�s a hybrid mix of this stuff that we love from both the country and bluegrass artistic worlds. Alison, I�ve known�I have a huge crush on Alison. She�s been the greatest singer, any genre, male or female of all time. She�s so cool. I called her up personally. Had the same conversation with Sam Bush, Tim O�Brien, and Miranda who I�ve toured with a bunch of times, same with Jamey Johnson. You know, I called them all on their cell phones and asked if they could come be a part of this. Same with Del, you know to have the Del McCoury�s number in your phone is the coolest thing ever.

CU:I: Do you have any pre-show rituals?

DB: They kind of change from tour to tour. Tequila is usually involved in some context. A quote from any movie Will Ferrell�s been in is usually involved. I think last year was from �Semi-Pro.� Just get together, say a prayer. As the tour goes on it gets longer and longer, the huddle. But yeah, a little shot of tequila and go out and have fun.

CU:I: What do you ultimately hope to inspire with the tour and with this album?

DB: I just say this in all humbleness, I think if I was living in Boulder and the Del McCourys were coming through town, I mean, that�s like, a really cool thing. To be the host of them, to bring in some of my fans and experience the music they make – because the only way to get this music is to see it live. You aren�t going to get it listening to a CD. I just want to turn people on to some new sounds and broaden their perspective on what country and country-bluegrass music can sound like and hopefully be a part of that. For my career, not just on the album, hopefully my hardcore fans with go with me on it but if they don�t, maybe it�ll just speak to the fact that I�m not playing it safe, I�m different. To make music for the sake of making great music and make the wheels go round on the tour bus for as long as I can.

Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Taylor Coughlin at Taylor.coughlin@colorado.edu.