Phoenix, Arizona isn’t known as a country music hotspot. In reality, you’re more likely to be made fun of for listening to country there than not. That’s one reason Dierks Bentley’s career is so surprising. Well, that and the fact that no one in his family plays music. But that hasn’t held him back in his career – it just gives his music an interesting edge. The completely self-taught musician moved to Nashville at 19 and has never looked back.

Early Life

Dierks Bentley grew up in Phoneix, Arizona, in a relatively normal family. His music taste made him a little bit of a black sheep in his household, as he preferred to listen to old albums rather than hits on the radio. His two favorite country artists? Classic stars Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. You can hear aspects of their music in his songs if you listen closely enough.

But unfortunately, for the first few years, he was in Nashville, it seemed like no one was listening to his music at all. It wasn’t until he got a gig on with TNN Television, as a researcher, that he got his big break. The record label, Capitol Records, signed him in 2002 and found that Dierks was raring to go.

Career Success

Within less than a year of signing, Dierks put out his first album, “Dierks Bentley.” It’s most successful song was “What Was I Thinkin,” whose catchy lyrics made the public fall in love. He started performing his debut album at live shows and built up enough of a following to put out eight more albums, including Riser, and Home, which both charted in the top 10. It’s truly been a decade of success for Dierks, and we can’t wait to see what the next one holds.