Talk about a music star rising.
In the months leading up to the release of Dierks Bentley’s new, bluegrass-tinged album, “Up on the Ridge,” slated to be released June 8, he’s been riding high with a rollicking television performance with Jack Ingram, a glamorous photo shoot in Esquire and more high-profile events.
“I am having the time of my life on this tour,” Bentley said. “I thought of doing a country record, then a bluegrass record. Then I decided this as the only album and just stop worrying about the genre description.”
It’s difficult to believe that just last fall the Phoenix native was performing as an opening act. Ever since Bentley moved to Nashville, Tenn., in the mid-1990s to attend college at Vanderbilt University and — more importantly — follow his dream to become a country singer, he’s sported a high-powered work ethic that, combined with his singer-songwriter talents, propelled him ahead in the business.
After years of struggle, Bentley, who is signed to Capitol Records, is likely ready to break through as the next major country music talent. This tour with the Travelin’ McCourys — sons of the man called the father of bluegrass music, Del McCoury — is bound to connect with fans of rock, country, pop and bluegrass.
If you go
Dierks Bentley Featuring the Travelin’ McCourys
Where: Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW
When: 9 p.m. Thursday
Info: $32.50; ticketmaster.com
Candidly, the album has hit written all over it. It’s difficult to remember when songs mixed elements of various formats so effortlessly — and beautifully. Much of the credit, Bentley said, goes to the creativity various guests brought to songs. Highlights include Del McCoury singing with Bentley on the U2 classic “Pride (In the Name of Love),” Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson filling out the vocals on “Draw Me a Map,” and Alison Krauss lending her voice to “Up on the Ridge.” Bentley has special praise for the Punch Brothers, who collaborated with him on several of the songs.
“They made it work,” Bentley said, speaking of “Pride.” “It’s not bluegrass, it’s just an acoustic band playing a U2 song. The whole album went that way. It’s not bluegrass, it’s not country, it’s just good.”
Besides the tour, Bentley has been performing at events and otherwise pitching in to help raise funds for Nashville flood relief efforts. The disaster, he said, drew the already tight-knit community even closer together.
Looking at the many career highlights he’s had, Bentley said working with others in the music community has been something of a dream come true. One, of course, was when Ingram invited him to join in performing “Barbie Doll” during the April Academy of Country Music Awards.
“Jack is the epitome of working hard and not complaining,” Bentley said of the performer who jokes that it took almost 15 years for him to become an “overnight sensation.” “I was a Jack Ingram fan when I was doing production support work [in the 1990s]. I remember him getting ready to sing when I was rolling up cables. … Performing with him was one of the greatest times I ever had, really.”
