History Music / DierksBentley

* PastInTheRearviewMirror: The first verse of "Settle for a Slowdown."

* OverprotectiveDad: The girl's father in "What Was I Thinkin'". When he catches his daughter sneaking out and getting in the narrator's truck, he runs out with a shotgun and fires at the tailgate as they drive off.

** "Kiss my ass" becomes "Kiss my… yeah" on the radio edit of "Drunk on a Plane".

* FakeBand: His 2020 novelty project "Hot Country Knights" is a fake band purported to be a tribute to 1990s country.

* PastInTheRearview: The first verse of "Settle for a Slowdown."

* LoveMakesYouCrazy: "5-1-5-0".
* LyricalDissonance: For a party song, "Am I the Only One" is rather… lethargic sounding. "Drunk on a Plane" is also rather melancholy for a song that initially sounds like a partying song, but is really about a guy who is [[DrowningMySorrows drowning his sorrows]] after being forced to fly to Cancún by himself because he couldn't refund his lover's ticket after she ditched him.

** "5-1-5-0" co-writer Jim Beavers admitted that the title is a reference to Music/VanHalen's album ''5150'', [[http://tasteofcountry.com/dierks-bentley-5-1-5-0-lyrics/ a band Bentley is a fan of]].

* OverprotectiveDad: The girl's father in "What Was I Thinkin'".

* NewSoundAlbum: ''Up on the Ridge'' was not only a radical departure into bluegrass, but also his first one not produced by Brett Beavers. (It was produced by obscure singer-songwriter Jon Randall instead.) He returned to Beavers for ''Home'', but ditched him for Ross Copperman on the more rock-tinged ''Riser'' and ''Black''.

** "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)" name-drops the AlternativeCountryband Cross Canadian Ragweed.

Bentley's material also includes a vast number of collaborations: bluegrass musicians Music/{{Alison Krauss|And Union Station}}, Del [=McCoury=], and The Grascals; less mainstream but critically-acclaimed country singers such as Music/KaceyMusgraves, Maren Morris, and Music/ChrisStapleton; and even a #1 duet with Elle King.

CountryMusic singer Dierks Bentley quickly made a name for himself in 2003 when he sent his debut single "What Was I Thinkin'" to #1 on the country charts. What followed is a mainstream country career with a bit more traditional leanings than most. Although his name is maybe not the most recognizable outside the genre, he has maintained a steady following and a solid streak of hits.

* ShoutOut: "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)" name-drops Cross Canadian Ragweed.

Bentley's material also includes a vast number of collaborations: bluegrass musicians Music/{{Alison Krauss|And Union Station}}, Del [=McCoury=], and The Grascals; less mainstream but critically-acclaimed country singers such as Music/KaceyMusgraves, Maren Morris, and Chris Stapleton; and even a #1 duet with Elle King.

* NewSoundAlbum: ''Up on the Ridge'' was not only a radical departure into bluegrass, but also his first one not produced by Brett Beavers. (It was produced by obscure singer-songwriter Jon Randall instead.) He returned to Beavers for ''Home'', but ditched him for Ross Copperman on ''Riser'', which has more of a rock edge.

* BrokenStreak: The two singles off ''Up on the Ridge'' were his first singles since his first album not to make Top 10 on the country charts. After that, "Bourbon in Kentucky", the lead single to ''Riser'', became his first to miss the top ''40'' due to radio programmers not wanting to play a melancholy ballad in the summer.