Dierks Bentley is prepping for the Feb. 25 release of his seventh studio album, Riser. He tapped friends Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston and Charlie Worsham to sing and play on the project, which is a loose narrative of the last two years of his life.
It is Bentley’s first album since the death of his father and the birth of his first son, and is grounded by a strong sense of family and community, as evidenced by lead single “I Hold On.” Bentley co-wrote six of the album’s 12 tracks with some of Nashville’s most acclaimed writers. “It’s important to really know the writers and musicians you work with, to hang out with them and live in the same world,” Bentley explains. “I have such a romance with Nashville and this community. I drove across the country when I was 19 years old with a dream of just being invited to the party. It’s still wild to me that I get to work with and call so many incredibly talented people my friends.”
A thunderbird symbol is used on the album to represent strength, resilience and renewal.
Riser was produced by Ross Copperman and Arturo Buenahora Jr. at Copperman’s home studio, Red Room. “It’s the sound in my head that I hear when I’m playing a live show,” Bentley describes. “You have one ear monitor in, one ear out, and the crowd’s there and your voice feels really great. There’s a certain amount of gravel to it because you’re tired, but you’re all jacked up on whatever you’re drinking and adrenaline, and the crowds and the fans are there and there’s this feeling, fists in the air—it’s that thing that’s hard to transfer into a studio environment. There’s a rawness.”
Bentley will kick off his Riser Tour May 9 in Charlotte, NC.
Riser track list:
1. Bourbon In Kentucky (Hlilary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Ryan Tyndell) with background vocals by Kacey Musgraves
2. Say You Do (Shane McAnally, Matt Ramsey, Trever Rosen)
3. I Hold On (Brett James, Dierks Bentley)
4. Pretty Girls (Jessi Alexander, Jon Randall, Dierks Bentley)
5. Here On Earth (Ross Copperman, Ryan Tyndell, Dierks Bentley)
6. Drunk On A Plane (Josh Kear, Chris Tompkins, Dierks Bentley)
7. Five (Ross Copperman, Ryan Tyndell, Dierks Bentley)
8. Riser (Travis Meadows, Steve Moakler)
9. Sounds of Summer (Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins, Adam Sanders)
10. Damn These Dreams (Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston, Dierks Bentley)
11. Back Porch (Cary Barlowe, Jaren Johnston, Hillary Lindsey)
12. Hurt Somebody (Matt Fleener, Shane McAnally, Mark Nesler) with background vocals by Chris Stapleton
The album is available for pre-order at digital retailers.
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