• DIERKS, ERIC AND SAM JOIN THE LIST OF PERFORMERS FOR THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

    Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and Sam Hunt, as well as Kelsea Ballerini, have been announced as the latest performers for this year’s ACM Awards. They join previously announced performers Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Cam and Florida Georgia Line.

    This year, Eric Church is nominated for six ACM Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), and Dierks Bentley and Sam Hunt each received two nominations. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

    The 51st Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Dierks and Luke Bryan, will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks, Charles, David, LBT, Toby

    Dierks Bentley will hit the ice with the Nashville Predators on Sunday (February 27th) in the alumni game against the St. Louis Blues alumni.

    Charles Kelley will appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday (March 2nd).

    If you want to light up your life, you can do so with a David Nail candle. Inspired by the romantic themes of his hit song, “Night’s On Fire,” the candle boasts the earthy aroma of sage, oak and lavender to relax the body while the lively aromas of orange and amber awaken the mind! Night’s On Fire is subtle and enticing. 12 ounce soy wax candle with an 80 hour burn time housed in a repurposed wine bottle!

    Little Big Town is set to receive the Artist of the Year award from the Music Business Association. The band will accept the award during the 2016 Music Biz Awards Luncheon May 18th. Sam Hunt will be honored with the Breakthrough Artist Award.

    Toby Keith has been added to The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson along with Hank Williams Jr., Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, Lee Ann Womack and Jack Ingram. The concert taping, which pays tribute to the famed singer-songwriter-actor, will take place March 16 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Previously announced artists include Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Darius Rucker, Emmylou Harris, Jamey Johnson, Willie Nelson and Trisha Yearwood.

  • DIERKS BENTLEY RELEASES THE VIDEO FOR HIS LATEST SINGLE, ‘SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH.’

    Dierks Bentley builds momentum for “Somewhere On A Beach” with the release of the wildly funny new music video today (2/26) on VEVO. The lead single from his forthcoming eighth studio album BLACK (Capitol Records Nashville) is the fastest rising of his career cruising into the Top 20 in just four weeks.   
     
    Bentley once again teamed with director Wes Edwards, this time on the streets and beaches of Puerto Morelos, Mexico, as a familiar character gets caught up in a whirlwind romance on a vacation gone wild. The duo has previously won both the ACM and CMA “Video Of The Year” Awards together. 
     
    “It took three days to shoot this video…we got so much great stuff all over this tiny little Mexican village outside of Cancun. It kills me to think about all the funny moments that we couldn’t fit into this edit,” shares Bentley. “Our lead character Josh is an old friend that some fans may recognize. He had us doubled over laughing on the set the whole time….really funny dude and incredible actor. I hope everyone digs our take on this story, which may be a little unexpected.”
     
    Watch “Somewhere On A Beach”: http://vevo.ly/4GyHH4
     
    Break has the exclusive behind-the scenes video from the making of making “Somewhere On A Beach” here.
     
    The “format superstar” (Entertainment Weekly) will set out on his 2016 SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH TOUR with Randy Houser, Cam and Tucker Beathard beginning May 12 in Holmdel, NJ following a string of dates overseas in April. Bentley has been slated to co-host the 51st Annual ACM Awards April 3 on CBS where he is also nominated for “Male Vocalist of The Year” and “Video of The Year.” For more information on new music, upcoming appearances tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.
  • THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Dierks Bentley (February 25th)

    On February 25th, 2014, Dierks Bentley released his album, Riser. He said the album was a snapshot of his life at the time, bookended by the death of his father and the birth of his son, Knox.

    He’s currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Somewhere on a Beach,” from his forthcoming album, Black.

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says Riser is a snapshot of his life at the moment.

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    Dierks Bentley (Riser snapshot) OC: …decided for me. :45
    “I think every record I’ve made has always been a little bit of a Polaroid snapshot of where I was at that place and time when I made it. This particular album just has a lot of scenery in the picture. I mean there’s a lot that’s gone on in the last two years, more so than any other time in my life. You look at some of the bookends of the making of this record – my Dad passing away at the start of the process and then my son Knox being born at the end of the process. It was unexpected…when I made this record I just wanted to have the best songs. I wasn’t sure what they were going to be about, but I wanted them to be the best. I wanted to write my best songs, I wanted to write a lot of songs. I wanted to listen to a lot of outside songs and find the best songs that I could for whatever I was going to write about, but I wasn’t sure what it was gonna be, and then life came along and decided for me.”

  • VALENTINE’S DAY AUDIO: AJ, Billy, Canaan, Darius, David, Dierks, Eric, Josh, LBT

    Each year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers with their special someone. The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia.

    Over 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark research)

    2.2 million marriages take place in the United States annually, which breaks down to more than 6,000 a day.

    Sunday is Valentine’s Day (February 14th), and we’ve got some thoughts and feelings more about love, romance and marriage from several of your favorite country artists. Some are new and some have become our favorites over the years. Which country stars are romantic? Which ones aren’t? Which ones have a good reason to celebrate the holiday that’s all about love?

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his love for wife, Denise, over the years.

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    AJ (Valentine’s Day) OC: …continue to. :24

    “We got a lot of history together now, and we’re happier than we’ve ever been. So, she’s still beautiful, and she’s always inspired songs. I mean, one of my early hits was a song called ‘I’d Love You All Over Again,’ I wrote for her for our 10th anniversary. I mean, there’s been a zillion songs that have pieces of our good days and bad days inspired, and they continue to.”

    Audio / Billy Currington recalls his first real Valentine’s Day.

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    Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day memory) OC: …took off running. :21
    “Yeah, I remember my first girlfriend. I was in first or second grade, but anyway, I remember it was Valentine’s Day and your mom going, ‘You’ve got to give your girlfriend something, and you’ve got to go give it to her.’ I’ll never forget — we got her a box of chocolates or whatever it was. I remember going down to her classroom and knocking on the door, getting her to come to the door. I remember handing it to her, and then I took off running.”

    Audio / Canaan Smith says he tries to show his wife how special she is every day.

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    Canaan Smith (Valentine’s Day) OC: …get lucky. :25
    “I bet I’m just like 99.9% of the rest of the men in the world who could really care less about that holiday. I want my wife to feel special, so I’m gonna take part in it. I’m gonna do my part to make her feel special and loved, but is it necessary? Shouldn’t we do that every day? I mean, it kinda is just another way to get a bunch of money out of us, but oh well. We’ll go see a movie or something. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker knew he would marry his wife, Beth, on their first date.

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    Darius Rucker (wife) OC: …her and country music saved my life. :43

    “I don’t know what it was about her. I mean, it was EVERYTHING about her. I knew, I told her I was going to marry her on our first date, [laughs] yeah. Beth’s a strong woman. It takes a strong woman to be married to a musician, especially a musician who was drinking and partying as hard as I was, and I think life for us is where we are now. It took a long time for us to get to where we are now, and we say to each other all the time, ‘I love us. I love our family. I love us.’ And I thank her every day for staying with me and being the strong woman she is, because with Hootie & the Blowfish, I could be gone for three months and then I’d come home for two days and then I’d be gone again for a month, and she put up with all that crap. You know, her and country music saved my life.”

    Audio / David Nail says his songwriting abilities sometimes work against him with his wife, Catherine, especially around Valentine’s Day.

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    David Nail (Valentine’s Day) OC: …line for me. :47
    “Very early on when we first started dating, the fact that I was a songwriter actually worked against me, because anytime I would say anything or write a letter, it was ‘Oh, you’re a songwriter. This just comes natural.’ So, I’ve always had to really watch what I say and how I say it and try to make it sound as genuine and regular Joe as possible. So, I definitely think as a creative person I have that romantic side that most creative people do. Sometimes I can get a little carried away and head into cheesy land a little too far, so I try to keep it as regular as possible. [Valentine’s Day] pretty traditional with us. She’s a big chocolate person, so you obviously can’t go wrong there, and a nice dinner. It’s pretty straight down the line for me.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the love you have for your children.

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    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 2 OC: …could before. :28

    “You get married and that’s a long-term, bigger image of what love can be. Then you have a child, and your heart gets spread so thin and it’s so vulnerable, like it’s a really tough, tough feeling, and it can kill you. It can really be painful at times, and at the same time, it’s so great. But it definitely stretches your heart…and it doesn’t change anything, it just makes your heart, I think it just makes it bigger. I think you just find that you can love more than you ever thought you could before.”

    Audio / Eric Church says his wife, Katherine, loves him in spite of everything.

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    Eric Church (Valentine’s) OC: …love song is. :48

    “True love to me is when you love a person in spite of all their fallibilities, and for me, I have a lot of ‘em. I’m definitely at times hard to love, and that’s what’s great about Katherine and the way she loves me. She loves me in spite of those things and really for those things.

    Audio / Josh Turner says his wife would call him a romantic, but now that they have four children, it takes a bit of work to make time for each other.

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    Josh Turner (Romantic) OC: …long time to come. :26
    “If you ask my wife Jennifer if I was a romantic, she would definitely say, ‘Yes,’ but she knows that sometimes my hectic schedule and our busy lifestyles can kind of interfere with the romantic side of things. But we do try to make efforts towards being together and having adult conversations and taking time away from the children and doing things that husbands and wives do, so we’ll definitely try to continue that for a long time to come.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman says falling in love with her husband, Stephen Schlapman, came as a big surprise.

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    Little Big Town (Kimberly falling in love) OC: …healed me. 1:20

    Kimberly: “Well, I wasn’t planning on falling in love, at all. I didn’t want to…I wasn’t sure that I ever would.  So, my husband now and I were just really good friends, and after my late husband died all my friends were calling me, all the time. Just checking up on me. He was just an old friends. We had known each other for about six years and he started calling me just like everybody else did.  But, he started calling me more than everybody else did [laughs]. We had both been through similar losses, he hadn’t lost a mate but he had lost a close friend, so we kind of bonded over that. I grieved, kind of, at him a lot. He took my grief, I had a lot of grief left, and he just took it and listened and accepted it and was so understanding and let me talk about my late husband all the time. We still talk about him a lot, and he’s totally fine with it. He says that, that made me who he fell in love with and he never minds if I bring anything from the past up which is just really sweet. I was shocked, I remember when I first realized that I was having feelings. I just thought, OK, this is so weird.  What is this?  I haven’t felt this in a long, long, time. This is weird. But, eventually I allowed myself and it’s been the most beautiful gift of my life. It pulled me out of the deepest hole that I’ve ever been in and healed me.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet was ready for love when he met Rebecca, his wife since 2007.

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    Little Big Town (Phillip – reasons fell in love) OC: …real love. :17

    “I think everything that I had gone through before had prepared me to be ready to see that there was genuine love there for me, and my Rebecca.  So, it was just a great time, I wouldn’t have been ready before I met her…Now it’s just been a really great journey to heal through the past and to know real love.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook had a chemistry performing together, but it wasn’t until they each found themselves single…at the same time…that sparks flew romantically. The pair, who wed in 2006, have a son, Elijah.

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    Little Big Town (Jimi & Karen fell in love) OC: (Kimberly) …to be together. :48

    JIMI: “We were in the band a long time before there was ever anything which is interesting. I think there was always something underlying there that we were kind of trying to ignore. And then when the opportunity came, when all of us, ended up single kind of at the same time, a very strange turn of events for the band in a lot of different ways. And those feelings, you were able to come out with them finally. It was like, we’re single. Let’s get together. And, you know, she has a beautiful heart and she’s absolutely gorgeous and I just love her dearly.”

    PHILLIP: “Get a room!” [laughs]

    KIMBERLY: “They’re a perfect match. They really are. They were meant to be together.”


  • VALENTINE’S DAY: Billy, Brothers O, Canaan, Charles, Clare, Darius, David, Dierks, Church, Paslay, Gary, Strait, Jon, Josh, Kacey, Keith, Kelleigh, Kip, LBT, Luke, Sam, Shania

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Billy Currington. Hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, this is T.J., and I’m John, and we’re Brothers Osborne. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, what’s up guys? I’m Canaan Smith, wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Charles Kelley (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Clare Dunn, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Valentine’s Day)

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    “What’s up y’all? This is Darius Rucker, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER David Nail (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, this is David Nail, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Church, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Eric Paslay, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, this is Gary Allan, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Valentine’s Day)

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    “This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! It’s Jon Pardi, and I hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Josh Turner, and I want to wish you and your sweetheart a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi, this is Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. This is Keith Urban. Make the day special for your ‘Once in a Lifetime’ love.”

    Audio / LINER Kelleigh Bannen (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Kelleigh Bannen, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s happening, everybody? This is Kip Moore. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day) 2

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    “Hey y’all. It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day. Make sweet love to your other.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi, this is Shania Twain. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  • DIERKS BENTLEY WILL BE FEATURED IN HIS OWN COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME EXHIBIT.

    Dierks Bentley is the latest superstar to be featured in an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The Dierks Bentley: Every Mile a Memory will open March 4th and run through September 6th.

    “It’s crazy to be considered for something like this,” Dierks says in a statement. “The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is home to the most revered and influential country artists of all time. Just being in the building as a visitor is humbling, but to actually be featured in one of the museum’s exhibits is something I never would have believed if you’d suggested it back when I started chasing this dream down on Broadway. I’m going to have to go down there to see it for myself to really make it sink in.”

    He’ll do an intimate Q & A and acoustic performance at the Hall in the CMA Theater March 12th. Among the items on display will include guitars, lyrics and stage clothes.

    Every Mile a Memory is named after his 2006 No. 1 single will trace his journey from Phoenix to Nashville, including his early days playing for tips in honky tonks on Lower Broad in Nashville to his current headline tours.

    Dierks is making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Somewhere on a Beach,” which is from his upcoming album, Black, due out later this year.

  • DIERKS BENTLEY WILL ANNOUNCE THE NOMINEES IN SELECT CATEGORIES FOR THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

    Dierks Bentley is set to reveal the nominees in six categories for this year’s ACM Awards Monday (February 1st) on CBS This Morning during the 8am hour. He’ll announce nominees for Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Vocal Duo, Vocal Group and Album of the Year. Nancy O’Dell will announce the rest of the nominees immediately following on ETOnline.com.

    Dierks and Luke Bryan will co-host the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards, which will broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

  • DIERKS BENTLEY’S ‘SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH’ IS MOST ADDED AND SITTING AT THE TOP OF iTUNES.

    NASHVILLE, TN – Jan. 25, 2016 – Fans across the country have found a little reprieve from winter in Dierks Bentley‘s “Somewhere On A Beach,” evident as the track immediately shot to the top of iTunes’ Country songs upon release. The salty track serves as the lead single from his forthcoming eighth studio album BLACK (Capitol Records Nashville) and is the most added song at Country radio this week, with the biggest add date of 2016 as 104 stations jumped on board.

    “I was ready to have fun, so it’s been really cool to see the fans immediately react to this song the way they have,” said Bentley. “As I literally sit on a beach right now in Cancun, I can’t remember ever being this excited about a new single.”

    The multi-PLATINUM entertainer has added rising singer/songwriter Tucker Beathard to the opening slot of his upcoming 2016 SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH TOUR, which is set to follow a string of UK shows together in April. The North American leg will begin on May 12 in Holmdel, NJ at the PNC Bank Arts Center with Randy Houser and special guest Cam. Fans can purchase tickets beginning Friday (1/29) for select cities as part of Live Nation’s Country Megaticket at www.Megaticket.com.

    Since moving from Phoenix to Nashville in the 1990s, Bentley has established his own artistic trail in country music. Instead of rehashing proven formulas, he’s doggedly reinvented his sound and subsequently developed an uncommon mix of commercial success and critical respect. RISER debuted at No. one on the Billboard country album chart, and its trio of chart-topping singles upped his career tally to 13 No one. songs as a songwriter and artist. He’s now amassed 13 GRAMMY nominations and dozens of other award show nominations. Additionally, Bentley has been a Grand Ole Opry member for over a decade and will co-host the 51st Annual ACM Awards this April on CBS. For more information on new music, upcoming tour dates and appearances, visit www.dierks.com.

    Check previous story for soundbite & liners here.

  • DIERKS BENTLEY PERFORMS ‘SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH’ ON ELLEN.

    Watch Dierks Bentley perform his new single, “Somewhere on a Beach,” on the Ellen DeGeneres Show below. He also presents a fan with a once-in-a-lifetime present: flying on a private jet to the Crashh My Playa event his weekend.

    Video / Dierks Bentley debuts 'Somewhere on a Beach' on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and gives a lucky fan a trip of a lifetime.