Dierks Bentley to perform at Treasure Island

Multi-platinum country headliner Dierks Bentley has performed at Lollapalooza, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Bonnaroo, the CMA Music Festival, even for the president at the White House – and will add Treasure Island Resort and Casino to his list. Bentley’s concert is set for Saturday Nov. 10.

With eight No. 1 singles, all written by himself, the musician has embraced musical diversity in his recording career, as his new album “Home” demonstrates. The project plunges him back into the country mainstream after a successful sojourn in bluegrass and roots music with the acclaimed and Grammy-nominated “Up On The Ridge” album.

“I definitely stepped away from the commercial country world for a little while,” Bentley said noting that his last such album “Feel That Fire” came out in early 2009.“That seems like a really long time ago. So this record feels fresh. It doesn’t feel like a continuation of any other project or series of recordings.”

But if there’s newness, there’s also a distinct familiarity about how Bentley and his music are connecting with fans, promoters at Treasure Island said.

This sixth album of his Capitol Records Nashville career produced a No. 1 hit “Am I The Only One,” even before its official release. The song sets a tone - a good-time song kicking off a good-time record.

The title track expresses pride and patriotism. It speaks of America’s “scars” and her tensions while illuminating those as sources of strength.

The writing session took place just four days after a shooting in Tucson, Ariz. - Bentley’s home state - that took six lives and injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

That tragedy did not inspire the song by any means, he said, but it did cast a shadow and influence him and his co-writers, once some opening lines popped out that seemed to speak to the vitality of being an American in these challenging times.

“It’s really hard to write a patriotic song,” he confesses. “But you want to. It’s something I think about all the time. I love the history of country music and I love the history of our country.”

The rest of the project is divided evenly between songs Bentley co-wrote and those he found on a lengthy song hunt.

In closing the album, he and Jim Beavers conceived “Thinking Of You,” a song that comes honestly from a man who’s away from his family more than he’d like. His daughter Evie makes a brief guest appearance at the end, singing the record’s appropriate final words: “Daddy’s home.”

“I walk a different path,” Dierks said. “Because of my love of acoustic music, I have opportunities to do different musical things. It’s not just one type of show, which I really think would be a lot easier.”

At a glance…

Who: Dierks Bentley

When: 8 p.m. Saturday Nov. 10

Where: Event Center

Cost: $49, $59

More info: 877-849-1640 or www.ticasino.com

Tags: arts and entertainment, lifestyle, entertainment