Dierks Bentley Cements His Superstar Status With Confident Performance In Nashville

Dierks Bentley brought his highly anticipated Beers On Me Tour to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday, August 26, nearly six months after the show was originally scheduled (February 25). The lineup included “My Boy” singer Elvie Shane and multi-platinum artist Dustin Lynch, who set the tone for the party atmosphere.

Kentucky native Elvie Shane and his electric band the Broken Arrows delivered a rousing performance, from his opening song “Country Roads” to his poignant number one hit “My Boy.” Shane mixed his blue collar roots with his Christian faith in songs like “Sundays in the South.” It’s easy to see why this classic rocker with a knack for country storytelling is part of the Opry’s NextStage Class of 2022.

Shane posted on Instagram after the show, “I’ll tell my grandkids about this night when I’m old and wrinkly and nobody else gives a damn about my hillbilly ass. Sincere gratitude to @dierksbentley and his whole team for being so welcoming last night… Singing some bluegrass in @bridgestonearenaofficial was proof that it is Broadway’s biggest honky-tonk. Love y’all. #badangel”

From the moment that Dustin Lynch and his band took the stage, they made it very clear that “Party Mode” wasn’t just a song title, but an anthem. The stage was decorated like a small town dive bar or frat house, with one of Lynch’s crew members bringing a beer bong on stage, pouring several cans of beer into the funnel before lifting his shirt to reveal the word “SMASH” written on his stomach – a nod to Nashville’s hockey town nickname “Smashville.” The band took the stage and drank from the funnel before kicking off the music as Lynch walked on stage, singing a snippet of “Thinking Bout You.”

He quickly transitioned into his hit “Ridin Roads,” setting the tone for his set. It wasn’t long before Lynch began to get personal with the crowd, starting with giving a loaded beer helmet to a fan in the pit. He continued by handing out sombreros to women in the pit, then giving them shots of tequila. The party vibe matched the music, with “Where It’s At,” “Mind Reader,” and “Seeing Red,” before slowing down into “My Mama’s House.”

After the brief reprise, the alcohol was flowing again when he pulled out a bottle of tequila and brought Chris Lane on stage to sing their summertime smash, “Tequila on a Boat.”

Lynch then took the crowd back in time with a stripped down version of his first number one hit, “Cowboys and Angels,” showcasing his rich vocals and impeccable storytelling. Next up was “Good Girl,” followed by a karaoke interlude with fans. He picked out four fans from the crowd to join him on stage for a game of beer pong. The fans were given beer keg and breathalyzer costumes before joining Lynch to sing along with Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” and Alan Jackson’s “5 O’Clock Somewhere.” The fans then headed to the beer pong table on stage while Lynch sang “Party Mode,” an appropriate soundtrack for the moment.

To round out his set, the Tullahoma, Tennessee native performed “Small Town Boy” and then brought it full circle with “Thinking ‘Bout You,” having the crowd sing the parts of his usual duet partner, MacKenzie Porter. Lynch’s full-blown party atmosphere was the perfect compliment to Bentley’s “Beers On Me” tour.

Lynch called the Nashville stop “a Friday night well spent” in a caption to a video he shared on Instagram, showing his soundcheck of “Cowboys and Angels” fading into his performance in front of the capacity crowd.

Full of fan-favorites and collaborations, Bentley took full advantage of his hometown show to solidify his place in country music with a more than two-hour long set. From his radio chart-toppers to his bluegrass projects and his 90s country cover band, the Hot Country Knights, Bentley’s versatility and authenticity make him a must-see on the country tour circuit. Bentley shared the importance of playing Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, telling the crowd, “This is obviously a big moment for all of us playing this building.”

One of the poignant moments of Bentley’s set was a dedication to the women on his team, listing them off by name. “So many women in my life I gotta thank that are here tonight,” said Bentley, before performing “Woman, Amen.” He added, “Now guys, if you showed up with someone special, you might get lucky if you sing along with this song. I’m singing along. I’m gonna try to get lucky with Cassidy Black tonight.”

Bentley made sure to put a spotlight on his talented band, including fellow artist Charlie Worsham, who performed the traditional African American spiritual and southern gospel classic “Working on a Building.”

“When I go places, it’s not just about putting on a show for me and trying to bring people out, I feel like I’m kinda representing Nashville everywhere we go, and bring a little piece of Nashville all across the country because I’ve lived here about 30 years and I know some of the best musicians in town and all my favorite people are musicians,” Bentley told the crowd. “Songwriters are amazing, artists are… eh… they’re okay,” he laughed. “My favorite people to hang with are musicians, because to be a great musician, you have to study all the people that came before you. You wanna be a good banjo player, you gotta learn how Ralph Stanley played it, you gotta learn how Earl Scruggs played it, then you gotta learn how J.D. Crowe played it, then you add your own twist to it.”

Bentley’s band demonstrated their stellar musicianship with an electric cover of Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

One of the highlights of the night was a collaboration with opener Elvie Shane on the song “Bad Angel.” Bentley spoke highly of Shane. “I love this guy, man. He’s got one of the best voices, one of the greatest collections of songs out there right now anywhere you can find.”

Bentley dialed things back when he performed an acoustic set of requests from fans, including “Bourbon in Kentucky” and “Settle for a Slowdown.”

In addition to his catalog of past hits, Bentley also performed his current single, “Gold,” which describes the optimism you can find on the bumpy road of life. “I got a rhinestone sky and a song in my soul / It ain’t a smooth ride, life, it’s a winding road / Yeah, it might be gravel, but it feels like gold”

Before singing the inspirational track “Riser,” Bentley dedicated the song to friends in the crowd. “I know a lot of risers in this town. Jackie is here tonight, she’s a nurse that I know that lives kind of near my neighborhood and has family in my neighborhood. I think about all the nurses out there and what they do and all the long hours they work. She’s definitely a riser, y’all. I get so much inspiration from Jackie and all the nurses and doctors out there. My buddy Terrence is in the crowd, Terrence is a police officer, he’s been in the force a long time. I got a chance to talk to him about how crazy this town has gotten and the stress those guys are under every night, so definitely send this song out to all the police officers out there. For all the parents out there, who just got a chance to send their kids off to school again…thanks for taking those kids off our hands, we appreciate y’all. Feels like summer time for me now, this is my summer time!”

Although he joked about sending his kids back to school, Bentley’s children played a prominent role during the show. 13-year-old Evie and 11-year-old Jordan joined him on stage to sing PINK’s “All I Know So Far,” with both daughters demonstrating their vocal chops and confident stage presence.

@musicmayhemmagazine

@dierksbentley surprised in Nashville with a performance alongside his two daughters, Jordan and Evie. Together, they performed a cover of @pinkofficial’s AllIKnowSoFar.

♬ original sound – Music Mayhem

Bentley brought out opener Dustin Lynch to perform the tour’s namesake song, “Beers On Me,” delivering a spirited performance, complete with the artists tossing cans of beer into the crowd for fans to catch. He also had the tour’s DJ Aydamn join him for a rowdy performance of “5-1-5-0.”

Bentley brought out one final special guest for the last song before the encore. Dressed in a pilot costume, his 8-year-old son Knox joined him on stage to show off his best dance moves during “Drunk on a Plane.”

@musicmayhemmagazine

@dierksbentley’s son Knox had the time of his life as he danced around the stage during Bentley’s energy-filled performance of #DrunkOnAPlane in Nashville! #dierksbentley

♬ original sound – Music Mayhem

For the encore, Bentley returned to the stage as his alter-ego Doug Douglason with 90s country band Hot Country Knights. Decked out in their best (worst?) 90s attire, the guys kicked off their set with Travis Tritt’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” before launching into a rapid-fire string of covers.

The guys covered female artists like Trisha Yearwood, the Chicks, LeAnn Rimes, JoDee Messina, Lee Ann Womack and male artists like Toby Keith, George Strait, John Michael Montgomery, Brooks and Dunn, and Garth Brooks before closing out their performance with a rowdy version of Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.” Douglason exited and Bentley returned to the stage for a final song, “Sideways,” a fitting conclusion to the party-filled night.

In a recap video he posted on Instagram, Bentley said in the caption, “It is always an honor to play the biggest honky tonk on Broadway… thank you, Nashville, for a night I’ll never forget”

“For the first time in a few years… we played Nashville last night. A night I’ll never forget… Had a few special guests join me on stage. Grateful is an understatement…! Thank you to my fans, we couldn’t do this without your continued support.. Thank you, Nashville, for an amazing night..!”

 

Dierks Bentley Nashville Set List

1. What Was I Thinking
2. Burning Man
3. I Hold On
4. Living
5. Gone
6. Woman, Amen
7. Black
8. Working on a Building (Charlie Worsham)
9. Up On The Ridge
10. Devil Went Down to Georgia
11. Bad Angel (with Elvie Shane)
12. Gold
13. Beers On Me (with Dustin Lynch)
14. Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do
15. Settle for a Slowdown
16. Bourbon in Kentucky
17. All I Know So Far (with daughters Evie and Jordan Bentley)
18. Riser
19. Am I the Only One
20. Somewhere on a Beach
21. Free and Easy
22. 5-1-5-0” (with DJ Aydamn)
23. Drunk on a Plane