Dierks Bentley is putting you on classic country notice

Dierks Bentley is putting you on notice – he’s changing things up for the Grand Ole Opry.

Moving forward, every time Bentley plays the Opry he’s going to include a cover of a classic country song in his set. He also plans to change the arrangements of his contemporary country hits to sound better in the Grand Ole Opry House.

“I want it to be a thing so people know we’re going to do it, expect us to do it and aren’t surprised by it,” Bentley said. “When we play the Opry we’re going to do a classic country song. It’s just the way it is. I’ll do … whatever the current hit is and then we’ll do one that’s fun for us.”

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Bentley started the new tradition last week. He made the last-minute decision to trade his jeans for a suit that night and asked his band to do the same. Everyone but the banjo player got the message and they walked out with a plan – “Free and Easy,” “Up On the Ridge,” “Somewhere on a Beach,” “What Was I Thinking” and Mel Tillis/Ray Price’s “Heart Over Mind.”

The decision to include a classic country song in every Opry set he plays is an extension of the bluegrass sets Bentley and his band opened shows with each night on his current tour. About 6:45 p.m., Bentley and crew dress in disguises and walk out on stage unannounced to play a few bluegrass songs. They change the faux band name in each city and he said most of the time, fans don’t recognize him. 

“It’s just fun and no one else is doing it,” Bentley said. “It gives me the chance to scratch that itch a little bit. And it’s a little bit of a nod to our hardcore fans who show up really early to get in the front row. They get to see us twice in a different configuration.”

With the tour nearing its end, Bentley wanted to keep scratching that itch and the Grand Ole Opry provides the perfect stage on which to do it.

“It’s like, ‘How else can we do things differently and keep pushing the envelope?’” he said. “We all love classic country music, and when we get on the Opry stage that’s all we ever want to do. It’s just something we really enjoy and we’re looking forward to the next time we play the Opry and doing another song.”

Bentley might be changing things up a bit in the recording studio, too. He said he's got some "tiny ideas and a basic theme" for his next country album, which he's recording this fall and planning to launch next year. However, he's already got his sights set on the project after that. 

"I've got something I'm brewing up, but it probably won't be until 2019," he said.  "It's not a follow-up, but it will be in the same lineage as (bluegrass album) 'Up on the Ridge.' I've been waiting for the right inspiration to come along and playing the Telluride Bluegrass Festival this year sparked an idea. It's just a little seed so I can't talk about it. It needs to germinate a little bit."