The Best of Backstage Country’s Co-Hosts: Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley, the guy with 22 number one songs, seven number one albums, three CMA and ACM Awards, is sliding into the Backstage Country co-host seat! He’s bringing his signature mix of humor, and honky-tonk charm.

Elaina Smith asked the singer-songwriter what’s special about 11th album, Broken Branches. Bentley shared that he loves albums and the idea of making an album, and “trying to make it like a book that has a theme.” He also revealed the inspiration behind the album’s name and the song with the same title.  

He shared, “The idea of broken branches, being here in Nashville, lower Broadway. I have a bar down there called Whiskey Row. And I got a new whiskey called Row Whiskey. I've been down there a lot. And just being around lower Broadway, just all the broken branches down there, all the people that leave the family farm or home. That's the idea of a tree, a family being a tree. Well, some branches break off, and they wander down to lower Broadway, and they're just not regular people. They're the ones that have a dream, they're chasing a crazy dream that, that's the music side of it.” 

“One of the people that wrote that song, Graham Barton, is a broken branch,” he continued. “He's down there slinging drinks at one of the bars down there and trying to write songs to be a great entertainer. But so that was the idea for the album concept just like broken branches and small town, religion, faith, and just all the bits and pieces that make up the life of someone that's a broken branch.” 

Smith revealed that she heard more than one person say that when they listen to the album, it sounds like the old Dierks. Bentley chuckled, “Well, I love hearing that. I like to expand and try to go for things, but I also feel like I've worked hard to kind of create a core sound and style, so I'm always circling around that as well.” 

“’Well Well Whiskey’ has a little bit that up on the ridge, you know blue grassy feel to it,” he added. “Throughout the album, there's a lot of acoustics which I love. A lot of banjo fiddles, mandolin, mixed with the big drums and electric guitars. You know, mix the bluegrass with the bigger sounds. So, it feels like this record does that. I've had great collaborators and musicians that worked on it. The songwriters I got to work with, the songs I found in my production team of Ross Copperman and John Randall and Mary Hillier, are a great collaborative effort.” 

Grab your copy of Broken Branches here.