Dierks Bentley: The Bio

• Country singer Dierks Bentley was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 20, 1975. He grew up in a non-musical family, so he was responsible for his own unique country music education.
• Bentley went to The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, graduating in 1993. He went to the University of Vermont but transferred after a year to Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
• Since 2005, Dierks has been married to Cassidy Black, and the two have three children and a dog named George. He has two daughters – Evalyn and Jordan – and a son, Knox.
• Bentley has a private pilot license and owns several planes.
• The country star has an estimated net worth of $30 million.
• He is six feet tall.
• Dierks is currently 45 years old.
• Dierks’ love of the music inspired him to move to Nashville, TN, in the early 90s, where he started playing music at local bars and clubs, including The Station Inn. He quickly built up a strong work ethic, which helped him get a deal with Capitol Nashville in the early 2000s.
• In 2005, Dierks performed more than 300 times, a staggering amount of shows that is beyond the amount that many artists perform in several years.

Dierks Bentley: The Music

Below are descriptions of the band’s six studio albums, including their most recent record, How It Feels to Be Lost.

2003: Dierks Bentley

• Dierks’ debut studio album was released via Capitol Nashville and produced by Brett Beavers. The album hit No. 26 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as well as No. 4 on the Top Country Albums chart. It was later certified Platinum by the RIAA, and it yielded a No. 1 country hit with the album’s first single, “Was Was I Thinkin.”

2005: Modern Day Drifter

• Another collaboration with Brett Beavers, Dierks’ second studio album features the No. 3 hit “Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do,” as well as two No. 1 singles, “Come a Little Closer” and “Settle for a Slowdown.” It became Dierks’ second record to go Platinum, as well as his second to reach No. 1 on the Billboard US Top Country Albums chart.

2006: Long Trip Alone

• Dierks’ third album was produced by Brett Beavers and went on to be certified Gold by the RIAA. The album features the singles “Every Mile a Memory,” “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go),” “Trying to Stop Your Leaving,” and the title track, “Long Trip Alone.”

2009: Feel That Fire

• Following a 2008 greatest hits compilation, Dierks put out Feel That Fire, an album that he co-produced with Brett Beavers, in February 2009. His fourth album was certified Gold and hit No. 1 on the Billboard US Top Country Albums Chart. It was ranked No. 1 on the Chicago Tribune’s best country albums of the year list in 2009.
• The album’s track “Beautiful World” went on to win a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. The song features Patty Griffin.

2010: Up on the Ridge

• Dierks’ fifth studio album is his first to be produced by Jon Randall Stewart, an industry legend who had previously worked with Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, and Brad Paisley.
• Up on The Ridge is one of Dierks’ most critically acclaimed records, but it failed to reach the same levels of commercial success that his previous albums had seen. Steven Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the record a highly favorable review, praising Dierks’ willingness to explore the bluegrass genre in a unique way.

2012: Home

• Bentley's sixth album was produced by Jon Randall Stewart, Brett Beavers, and Luke Wooten. Certified Gold by the RIAA after its release, the album yielded three No. 1 US Country hits – ”Am I the Only One,” “Home,” and “5-1-5-0.”

2014: Riser

• Riser was Dierks’ seventh album to hit the top 10 on the Billboard 200. The accompanying video for the titular track received praise from numerous outlets for how touching and emotional it is.
• Another track, “Bourbon in Kentucky,” was released to country radio before the rest of the album and received much praise.
• The album was produced by Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston, and Arturo Buenahora Jr. Several outlets gave it either 4 or 5-star reviews, including USA Today, Roughstock, Country Weekly, and Got Country.

2016: Black

• His eighth album, Black, was produced by Ross Copperman and certified Gold after its release. The critically acclaimed record features the hits “Somewhere on a Beach,” “Different for Girls,” “Black,” and “What the Hell Did I Say.”
• The album’s name is Bentley’s wife Cassidy’s maiden name. He described the record as “a relationship album that covers the ups and downs of the journey and ends with some self-realization and evolvement [sic].”

2018: The Mountain

• The Mountain is Dierks’ last album to date, released in June 2018. Produced by Jon Randall Stewart and Ross Copperman, the record debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 3 on the US 200 albums chart. It features the singles “Woman, Amen,” “Burning Man,” and “Living.”
• This record earned Bentley the highest debut sales of his career.
• Guest vocalists on the album include Brothers Osborne on “Burning Man” and Brandi Carlisle on “Travelin’ Light.”