Dierks Bentley Shares Details of Upcoming TV Shows

Dierks Bentley previously revealed he was working on a TV show based on the Nashville bar scene, but that’s not all he is working on! The 43-year-old has a few different projects, all headed to the small screen.

“I’m working on a couple of shows,” Bentley shared with CMT’s Cody Alan. “One [TV show] is going to be about the Hot Country Knights. It’s more of a Spinal Tap meets Curb Your Enthusiasm type of situation. The Fox show, though, is more of a Cheers of Nashville kind of thing. Of course, you remember the show Cheers based out of Boston. This show revolves around a bar in Nashville, and you have this great bar owner, who’s seen it all, been everywhere, and is kind of like a Sally Fields type character.”

While Bentley doesn’t divulge how his ’90s cover band, Hot Country Knights, will fit into a TV show, he does admit that he is realizing how much he needs to know to take his talents from the concert stage to the television.

“I’m learning a lot about the TV business, but it’s like having a song on hold,” explained the singer. “You write a song, and somebody puts it on hold, but that doesn’t mean that it will make the record. It’s a long ways to go. We will see!”

Bentley will kick off his 2019 Burning Man Tour on Thursday, with Jon Pardi and Tenille Townes serving as his opening acts, along with an appearance by the Hot Country Knights as well.

“Who we bring with us on tour is so important to the band, crew and me and the addition of Tenille Townes is something we are all stoked about,” Bentley said. “Our hardcore fans are aware of the ’90s country cover band, the Hot Country Knights, who have been following us around and opening shows.They talked us into having them on the actual billing for this tour … hope their van has snow tires for Canada!”

The Arizona native is equally excited about having Pardi out with him, especially since Pardi will soon be ready to graduate to headliner status.

“The first time I heard Jon I was sitting on my bus, we were playing a show out in California somewhere, kind of a random gig, and I heard this voice and I heard the band,” Bentley recalled. “I hear a lot of music over the course of a year on the road, and there’s just that one small thing that makes something stand out to you. I remember hearing it on my bus, through the walls of my bus. We were pretty far from the stage, and going, ‘Okay, there’s something really cool going on.’

“I got off the bus and went down there and watched this guy, and he was brand new,” he continued. “He had a steel guitar player that had a pet squirrel that lived inside his shirt. You can’t make this stuff up. I mean, it was a rogue band. It was early on, and this guy, he’s out there just slaying it, slinging these words out there and playing telecaster. I was like, ‘This guy is going to be someone.’ I called my booking agent Jay Williams and said, ‘This guy’s great, man,’ and this was probably 10 years ago.”

A list of all of Bentley’s upcoming shows can be found at Dierks.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Erika Goldring