1994-2002: Move to Nashville, early years, ''Don't Leave Me in Love'' Dierks Bentley moved to
Nashville, Tennessee in the late 1990s at the age of 18 with the ambition of pursuing a career in country music. In his earliest years in the city, he immersed himself in the local music scene by attending live performances and networking with musicians, while also working behind the scenes in the tape library at
The Nashville Network, where he catalogued archival footage of historic country music performances. These experiences deepened his appreciation for the genre’s traditional roots and introduced him to the storytelling and instrumentation found in bluegrass. He frequented the
Station Inn, a well-known bluegrass venue, and began performing in small clubs and bars along Lower Broadway and elsewhere in the city, including Springwater and Market Street Brewery. During this period, Bentley focused on songwriting, eventually meeting Mike Ward, with whom he began a steady writing collaboration. From 1999 to 2001, Bentley and Ward co-wrote several songs and entered BNA Studios in
Franklin, Tennessee to record what would become ''
Don't Leave Me in Love'', Bentley’s first independently released album. Self-funded and distributed through his own label, Dangling Rope Records, the album marked the culmination of Bentley’s formative years in Nashville and served as the foundation that would lead to his later mainstream success.
2003–05: Dierks Bentley and Modern Day Drifter Bentley worked at The Nashville Network (now
Paramount Network), researching old footage of
country performances. During this time, Bentley was banned from the
Grand Ole Opry for trespassing on the grounds of the Opry House for research purposes, a ban that would be lifted when Bentley's first album was released. In 2003,
Capitol Nashville released Bentley's self-titled debut album. The album's first single, "
What Was I Thinkin'", reached No. 1 on the US
Billboard Hot Country Songs charts later that year. The next two singles from the album – "
My Last Name" and "
How Am I Doin'" – reached No. 17 The induction took place on October 1, 2005. Bentley stands as the third-youngest member after
Carrie Underwood and
Josh Turner.
2006–08: Long Trip Alone and Greatest Hits/Every Mile a Memory 2003–2008 , March 31, 2007 On June 10, 2006, Bentley released his third album,
Long Trip Alone. The album produced two No. 1 hits in "
Every Mile a Memory"
Feel That Fire, was released in February 2009. Its
title track, co-written by Brett Beavers and
The Warren Brothers, became Bentley's sixth No. 1 hit The second single off the album is "
Home", which was co-written by Bentley, Brett Beavers and
Dan Wilson, and also reached No. 1 On August 21, 2012, Bentley released the
Country & Cold Cans EP on iTunes. It includes five songs, including a radio edit of the track "
Tip It On Back" from his album
Home. Bentley paid for the studio time to record the EP himself. On October 23, Bentley and
Miranda Lambert announced the co-headlined 33-show Locked and Reloaded Tour, which began on January 17, 2013.
2014–2015: Riser Bentley's seventh album,
Riser, was released on February 25, 2014. The album's first single, "
Bourbon in Kentucky", was released to country radio on June 10, 2013. It peaked at No. 45 on the
Billboard Country Airplay chart, becoming Bentley's lowest-charting single to date. The album's second single, "
I Hold On", was released on August 26, 2013, and became his first No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart
2016–2017: Black Bentley released his eighth album,
Black, on May 27, 2016. The album's first single, "
Somewhere on a Beach", was released on January 25, 2016. Bentley co-hosted the
51st Academy of Country Music Awards on April 3, 2016, where he was also nominated for the Male Vocalist of the Year and Video of the Year awards. Bentley released a series of four short films for songs from
Black, with episode 1 being the song "I'll Be the Moon" featuring
Maren Morris. The following episode serves as the video for "What the Hell Did I Say". The album's second single, "
Different for Girls" featuring
Elle King, was released to country radio on June 6, 2016. It reached No. 1 on Country Airplay in October 2016. The album's
title track was released to country radio as the third single on November 14, 2016. He was also selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country", a
mashup track of "
Take Me Home, Country Roads", "
On the Road Again" and "
I Will Always Love You", which celebrates 50 years of the
CMA Awards.
2018–2021: The Mountain and Hot Country Knights On June 8, 2018, Bentley released
The Mountain, his ninth studio album, via Capitol Records Nashville. All three singles from the album – "Women, Amen", "Burning Man" and "Living" – reached No. 1 (the second of which, however, only being recognized by
Mediabase). Bentley's side project, a '90s country parody band called
Hot Country Knights, signed on with Bentley's label Universal Music Group Nashville as a separate recording act in 2020. The act consists of Bentley and his road band, all of whom operate under stage names; Bentley uses the name Douglas "Doug" Douglason. They released their debut single, "Pick Her Up" – which was co-written by Bentley with
Jim Beavers and
Brett Beavers, and features guest vocals from
Travis Tritt – on January 23, 2020. Bentley released a new single, "
Gone", on October 22, 2020. The song was his highest-charting single on the
Billboard Hot 100 since his 2003 debut, "What Was I Thinkin'". On July 29, 2021, he released "
Beers on Me" featuring
Hardy and
Breland. He also joined
James Barker Band on the single "
New Old Trucks" in October 2021.
2022–2023: Gravel & Gold On July 29, 2022, Bentley released the lead single, "
Gold", from his tenth studio album,
Gravel & Gold, which was released on February 24, 2023. On November 19, he released "High Note", a bluegrass track featuring
Billy Strings.
2024–present: Broken Branches Bentley began work on his eleventh studio album in 2024, collaborating with songwriters
Brett Beavers,
Devin Dawson, and
Ashley Gorley. He released the single "She Hates Me" on February 14, 2025 blending elements of
Keith Whitley and
Weezer, with
Billboard describing it as "humorous" with
Rolling Stone highlighting its
post-grunge homage to the 2001 single "
She Hates Me" by
Puddle of Mudd. The album's title
Broken Branches was officially announced on April 15, 2025; the album was released on June 13, 2025. ==Personal life==