Dierks Bentley‘s new album, The Mountain, is out now!
New inspiration hit Bentley last summer when he performed at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Fast forward a few months later and the 42-year-old returned to Telluride with some talented songwriters. His songwriter’s retreat included Natalie Hemby, Luke Dick, Ross Copperman, Jon Randall, Jon Nite and Ashley Gorley. That was the beginning of his ninth studio album, appropriately titled The Mountain.
It was in the mountains of Telluride where those talented songwriters came together to write the majority of this album. Bentley describes it as the most creative experience he’s ever had — and possibly the most unique.
“Telluride just makes you want to reach for your guitar,” he explains. “We all went out there and got completely off the grid — out of our normal element and the grind that happens on Music Row and it was, from the very get-go, magic. We’d wake up every morning, grab a coffee, take the gondola up, watch the sun come up over the mountains, and by 8:30 we were writing. We just wrote non-stop.”
A couple months after that, Bentley returned once again to Telluride. This time, he had a production team with him. Ross Copperman, Jon Randall, executive producer Arturo Buenahora Jr. and several musicians returned with Bentley to record the songs.
“Obviously, the songs were written and recorded in the mountains. But it’s the mountain that we’re all faced with every day, and the struggle to put one foot in front of the other even when things are hard, that we all have in common. Looking back now, I think we were all searching for hope and optimism when we were writing this music.”
The 13-track album includes collaborations with Brothers Osborne and Brandi Carlile. Check out the preview Bentley released of The Mountain below and download the new record by clicking on the album art at the bottom of this post.
The Mountain Track Listing:
1. “Burning Man” (feat. Brothers Osborne)
2. “The Mountain”
3. “Living”
4. “Woman, Amen”
5. “You Can’t Bring Me Down”
6. “Nothing On But The Stars”
7. “Goodbye In Telluride”
8. “My Religion”
9. “One Way”
10. “Son Of The Sun”
11. “Stranger To Myself”
12. “Travelin’ Light” (feat. Brandi Carlile)
13. “How I’m Going Out”
