Dierks Bentley experienced a level of inspiration he hasn’t really experienced before when he performed last summer during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. During the middle of his tour, he suddenly wanted to play guitar and write songs. So, he decided a writing retreat in Telluride, Colorado would be the perfect place for a writing retreat.
“Usually when I’m vacation, I don’t really reach for my guitar. I’m there to recharge in a way,” says Dierks. “Here I am out in the middle of the tour – the heavy part of the tour – playing my guitar and singing and my voice is hoarse, and I just found myself like wanting to hold my guitar and play songs, which is a really weird thing for me on an off-day on the tour. There’s just something here, which I can’t put into words, but I feel like this could be a good starting place in some way. What I’m looking for is here somehow.”
The writing retreat, with songwriters Natalie Hemby, Luke Dick, Jon Randall, Jon Nite, Ashley Gorley and writer/producer Ross Copperman, proved to be hugely successful and led to recording the new album in the small former mining town located within the San Juan Mountains.
“I just had this crazy idea to bring some songwriters out there and let them go for hikes and walk around town and just hang and see if they can sense that same intangible vibe that I was sensing, and they did,” says the Arizona native. “We jumped right into it and it was really, really special. And everyone immediately starts talking about how can we start getting back out here again, because it’s one of those places you just like never want to leave. Ross said, ‘We should come back out here to make the record,’ and we all kinda laughed about it, but it planted the seed. So, I came back a few months later with a different set of guys and girls, musicians, and we recorded the album out there.”
Fans who pre-order the album now on Dierks.com will receive a Key to THE MOUNTAIN that will unlock extra tracks, bonus videos, special merchandise and VIP experiences with Bentley on his 2018 tour.
The Mountain is set for release early this year.
Audio / Dierks Bentley explains how he was inspired on his new album by spending time in Telluride, Colorado.
DownloadDierks Bentley (album inspired by Telluride) OC: …working with. :41
“There’s something about Telluride, just being out there and the music and the festival. Usually when I’m vacation, I don’t really reach for my guitar. I’m there to recharge in a way. Here I am out in the middle of the tour – the heavy part of the tour – playing my guitar and singing and my voice is hoarse, and I just found myself like wanting to hold my guitar and play songs, which is a really weird thing for me on an off-day on the tour. There’s just something here, which I can’t put into words, but I feel like this could be a good starting place in some way. What I’m looking for is here somehow. I know that’s weird, but making albums is a hard thing to really verbalize to the people you’re working with.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley was inspired by Telluride to write and record his new album, The Mountain.
DownloadDierks Bentley (album inspired by Telluride) 2 OC: …it was magic. :53
“I just had this crazy idea to bring some songwriters out there and let them go for hikes and walk around town and just hang and see if they can sense that same intangible vibe that I was sensing, and they did. We jumped right into it and it was really, really special. And everyone immediately starts talking about how can we start getting back out here again, because it’s one of those places you just like never want to leave. Ross said, ‘We should come back out here to make the record,’ and we all kinda laughed about it, but it planted the seed. So, I came back a few months later with a different set of guys and girls, musicians, and we recorded the album out there.” It’s one of those things where you just kind of follow your gut, just keep your heart open to ideas and see what you’re feeling, and once you get that little, tiny feeling, you’ve got to go for it, just like that gut instinct of I want to be a country singer. It’s that little seed that if you believe in it, you’ve got to go for it, try it, so that’s what we did with this album, and it was magic.”
