Dierks Bentley Reveals Real Reason He Agreed to TV Show

Dierks Bentley was already a busy guy when he signed on to do his new Nashville-based TV show. But the father of three reveals why he decided to do the series based on Music City bar season, in spite of how chaotic his life already is.

“I think I’ve learned over the years and having kids and being busy this life comes down to a really big YES or it’s just a no,” Bentley explained. “Unless something’s a really big YES, you just say no, and it just helps simplifies all of your answers I’ve been presented with a lot of reality TV opportunities and commercials and stuff, and through that basis of yes and no and searching for the big YES in life, I’ve been able to make those decisions pretty clearly, usually no. But this came along, and I love the idea of it.

“It’s kind of like Cheers TV show meets Nashville,” he continued. “What I saw initially was so funny, and Executive Producer is a great role for me because I don’t have to be on camera and I don’t have to go to L.A. every weekend. L.A. is a tough place to spend too much time traveling in and out of, so that worked out well with my family and with my music, and I was like, ‘Yes. I’m all in.” I’m really heavily involved working with Jack [Burditt]. He’s a great writer. This guy’s hilarious. I’m learning so much from him. I just tell him I’m here to assist in any way possible.”

The Arizona native decided to do the show because it combined everything he loves about the city he now calls home.

“Looking at the first script, it’s funny; you could see it being on TV,” Bentley said. “It looks like a really funny show. Nashville’s changed so much, and everyone has an idea of what Nashville is, and this kind of goes back – it’s Nashville now, but also it plays off of the Nashville that exists in people’s minds: singers walking down the street with a guitar, busking and moving here to get a dream. That still happens. People move here every day with a guitar hoping to make a dream happen. You don’t see it as much ’cause the city’s gotten so big, but it still exists. So, this kind of examines this whole side of Nashville. The bar owner, she’s been there for a long time — seen ’em all come, seen ’em all go. Nothing fazes her.

“Kind of rough on the outside, but the inside is a teddy bear; all these characters in the bar, and obviously, there’s gonna be a live music component to it,” he added. “So, it felt like something that was the right time for me and I could get excited about and have the energy to get fully involved in.”

Bentley is currently on his Burning Man Tour, with Jon Pardi and Tenille Townes serving as his opening acts. Find dates at Dierks.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Erika Goldring