Dierks Bentley Plans Two New Albums for 2010

Dierks Bentley has included one bluegrass song on each of his four studio albums, but now he's planning on dedicating an entire track list to the genre. The singer will spend the rest of his fall and winter writing and recording not only a bluegrass album, but also a country album -- both of which he plans to release next year.

"I've been looking forward to wrapping the tour we were on with Brad [Paisley], because I've been itching to come off the road and work on some new music," Dierks tells The Boot. "The tour has been a blast but now I look forward to getting in the studio."

It's no secret that Dierks is a fan of bluegrass music. Before scoring a record deal, he had a weekly gig playing at Nashville's Station Inn, one of the most famous bluegrass venues in the South.

"Nashville is my hometown; I've been here 15 years, so I know a bunch of the grassers, a lot of the country guys, a lot of songwriters and musicians," Dierks explains. "Every album I've done has a bluegrass song on it, so it's not a surprise that one day I might make a bluegrass record. It would be a cool thing for me."

Dierks plans to take January through March of 2010 to complete those recordings. He says it's the first time in a long time he's been able to take some time off to create new music.

"As far as the live show, we're really good at that. Every night I walk off stage feeling pumped, knowing that we reached that place with crowd. I love that, but I want to take time to make two records, two great records. Then we'll get back on the road in late spring."

Before heading out on a major arena tour again, Dierks says he'd like to do another of his "High Times and Hangovers" Tours with Cross Canadian Ragweed.

"That's where we go out and do small rock bars and get down and dirty," he reminds The Boot. "But this will be the first time Cody (Cody Canada, lead singer for Cross Canadian Ragweed) hears about it because I haven't called him about doing it. I'd like to do that with them sometime in the spring, then hit the fairs and festivals in the summer and do a headline tour next fall."