The Mountain, on June 8th. Dierks co-wrote 10 of the 13 new songs, unified by themes of presence and positivity, and the song styles range from textured rock to acoustic folk.
Dierks started the album in Telluride, Colorado, where Bentley has has been a regular at a bluegrass festival multiple times over the years, making it a point to realign himself to the world around him. But once he performed on the festival’s main stage in 2017, the fest became an important gateway to the inspiration for the album.
“I found myself there, constantly reaching for my guitar,” Bentley said. “It was like a gravitational pull. That town and those people just make you want to be creative, I couldn’t describe it. I was like ‘How do I tell everyone in Nashville this is what I want to write about?’ I realized I couldn’t bring it back, so I had to take everyone out there.”