Dierks Bentley plans to follow his successful Riser tour with an even bigger one this summer, dubbed the Sounds of Summer. The planning process for these tours can be intense and Bentley invited some members of the media in to see what all goes into it.
The tour will have Kip Moore and Maddie and Tae on as well and the group of talented musicians began solidifying their bond back in January when they did Bentley’s annual “Polar Plunge” together (see video below).
Bentley says it is important for everyone on the tour to have fun and be able to count on each other since the road can get to be a stressful and lonely place.
The tour officially kicks off Friday (June 5th) at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, N.C.
The planning process for the tour begins in Bentley’s kitchen with his fiddle player, then shifts into his bass player’s basement for initial rehearsals. The group moves into ever larger rooms until they finally have the entire production set up in the Bridgestone arena’s lower level.
“We need to do stuff that makes it exciting for us to play these songs every year and work with the rest of our crew to make them as big as they can be,” he says. “It’s a process. It starts really small and ends with this.”
When he sings “Riser”, the title track from his latest album, Bentley gets on a platform that slowly raises him above the stage — and lowers him even more slowly when he was finished. “We’re actually getting a faster lift, so this is less of a Spinal Tap moment,” he says.
For the first time, Bentley is incorporating pyro into his production. “This tour’s called the Sounds of Summer,” he says.
“It’s about summertime. For me, that involved M-80s and half sticks, bottle rockets and setting things on fire. That’s what I loved doing as a kid.” Adding fire and explosives is learning process for everyone involved, says Bentley, who hopes he remembers where not to stand when the real shows start. “We’ve lit the stage on fire. They’ve melted five spots in the stage. I don’t know why it has to be 3,000 degrees. Can’t they get a regular flame that’s not that hot?”
Bentley’s favorite acoustic guitar has been signed by most of his musical heroes, including Merle Haggard, George Strait, the late George Jones and Garth Brooks. “I wish I had my dad right there, his autograph,” he says, pointing to the spot on the side right below Brooks’ signature. “That would make this thing perfect.”
Catch The Sounds of Summer tour at one of the dates below!
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