Dierks Bentley Goes Acoustic ‘Up on the Ridge’

When Dierks Bentley first moved to Nashville, he spent countless hours basking in bluegrass music at the fabled Station Inn. Since that time, he's often been asked: "When are you going to put out a bluegrass record?" Dierks insists he was just waiting for the right time and with a hectic tour schedule winding down, the right time is this summer!

But 'Up on the Ridge' isn't simply a bluegrass album. It's more accurately described as acoustic roots music and will feature some of the most widely-acclaimed bluegrass and acoustic pickers working today, including the Del McCoury Band (previously featured on Dierks' 'Modern Day Drifter' album), Alison Krauss, Tim O'Brien, Sam Bush and Chris Thile's band, Punch Brothers. Fellow country hitmaker Miranda Lambert is also a featured guest vocalist on the disc.

In spite of the roster of big-name collaborators, the award-winning singer says, "I didn't want this to be 'Dierks Bentley and friends' or a 'Dierks does bluegrass' kind of album. I wanted each song to have something special about it, and in the end I think each song really does have its own thing going on. It's my version of bluegrass music, it's not just banjos cranked up to eleven. It throws out a big net."

Dierks contributes several songs to the project himself, and also covers tunes by no less than the legendary Bob Dylan. The album was produced by singer/songwriter Jon Randall -- a noted acoustic musician himself as a member of Emmylou Harris' '90s band, the Nash Ramblers.