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 Through the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a good bit of time with Dierks Bentley, conducting interviews on his bus, backstage before shows, at his home and elsewhere. And, while I don’t know that either of us ever consciously thought about any ongoing themes in those conversations, beyond the particulars of the individual songs and career milestones we discussed, it’s hard to look back on those interviews without seeing the importance of family and having someone or something to care about in Dierks’ life. Sometimes we’d talk about his parents and brother back in his native Arizona; other times it would be about his faith and his strong belief in things bigger than himself.
Then, in one particularly revealing moment back in his single days, he touched on how it felt to pull into Nashville after being on the road with his band—his second family in many ways—and have them all eager to get off the bus and head home to wives and kids. Meanwhile, he’d try to convince them to stay on the bus a little longer and play Xbox games with him because he had no one waiting for him at home. “I also had a lot of friends, like Cody Canada in Cross Canadian Ragweed, who were starting to have kids. And I felt like I was being left behind,” he told me at the time.
If Dierks might’ve sounded a little melancholy then about not having anyone to greet him at home, a good listen to his excellent new CD, Home, will tell you all you need to know about what a married father of two—a man happy in his life and his career—sounds like. Released today, Home applies in so many ways to where the project finds Dierks, onstage and off. Whether rockin’ the house with the great party tune and earlier single “Am I The Only One,” relieving the pain of hard times—if only briefly— in “Tip It On Back” or giving sage advice about the domino effect of getting married in “Diamonds Make Babies,” Dierks is at the top of his game throughout the new CD and is “back home” in mainstream country after a foray into bluegrass and roots music with his previous Up On The Ridge.
But Dierks doesn’t totally forsake bluegrass on Home as he calls on good buddies Sam Bush and Tim O’Brien to add some tasty pickin’ to the infectious “Heart of a Lonely Girl.” And Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild offers up some beautifully heartfelt vocals on “When You Gonna Come Around,” a soulful tune about the first tentative longings in a new relationship. Just gorgeous.
As good as the rest of the record is, two songs stand out as truly special. The title cut is simply an emotion-packed treasure, with its loving tribute to the land of his birth and its acknowledgment that, while she may be imperfect, America is worth working hard to preserve as the place we all call home. It is absolutely my favorite Dierks Bentley tune . . . ever. If he did nothing else in his career, “Home” would be more than enough to assure his place in country music history.
But as special as it is, it’s hard to top the record’s final cut, “Thinking of You,” for emotional impact as Dierks shares the microphone with his three-year-old daughter, Evie, in a song he wrote for her. If you were fortunate enough to see them sing it on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium last week, you already know how moving the scene was. If you weren’t there, you owe it to yourself to find the performance on YouTube and watch it . . . with a tissue close by. It’s truly heartwarming. And, if home truly is where the heart is, Dierks playing his new music with his precious daughter, on a stage he reveres in a land he loves, truly must’ve felt like home for him. It did for the rest of us.—David Scarlett
Photo: James Minchin III
Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com
 Relativity Music Group is pleased to announce the release of the soundtrack for Relativity Media’s adrenaline-fueled Navy SEAL action-thriller Act of Valor, featuring brand new original songs written and inspired by the film from today’s top recording artists including: Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Trace Adkins, Wynonna Judd, Montgomery Gentry, and more. In theatres February 24, 2012, the Bandito Brothers’ Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a film like no other in Hollywood’s history, along with actors Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle and Nestor Serrano, in an unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking. Pre-Order of the Act of Valor album is available on the iTunes® store now. The soundtrack will be released by Relativity Music Group and distributed in music retail locations by Capitol Records Nashville on February 21st.
The track listing includes original songs written and performed by artists including: Keith Urban (whose song “For You” is featured in the film’s end credits), Sugarland (“Guide You Home”), Lady Antebellum (“I Was Here”), Trace Adkins (“If the Sun Comes Up”), Lori McKenna (“Two Soldiers Coming Home”), Jake Owen (“The Best I Can”), Montgomery Gentry (“What It Takes”), Josh Kelley (“The Best of Me”), Hunter Hayes (“Where We Left Off”), and Wynonna Judd (“Whatever Brings You Back”).
Produced and directed by former Baja 1000 champion Mike “Mouse” McCoy and former stuntman Scott Waugh, and written by Kurt Johnstad (300), Act of Valor features a gripping story that takes audiences on an edge-of-their-seat journey, when a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly results in the discovery of an imminent, terrifying global threat, an elite team of highly-trained Navy SEALs must immediately embark on a heart-stopping secret operation, the outcome of which will determine the fate of us all. Act of Valor combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the-minute battlefield technology, and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure film—showcasing the skills, training and tenacity of the greatest action heroes of them all: real Navy SEALs.
For more information about Act of Valor, please visit http://www.actofvalor.com.
 Trace Adkins has been invited to headline the second annual NRA Country Jam, presented by Bushnell and Folds of Honor. The concert will take place on Friday, April 13th at the Ferrara Theatre, just steps away from the exhibit hall in America’s Center in St. Louis during the NRA Annual meetings.
The exhibit hall will be filled to capacity with over 500 exhibitors displaying every shooting and hunting related product and accessory imaginable. Over 70,000 NRA members are expected in St. Louis for three fun filled days that will be kicked off by Adkins and NRA Country Jam II.
An avid supporter of our U.S. military, Adkins, together with NRA Country and Bushnell, have designated a portion of the proceeds from the NRA Country Jam to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation. Founded by Iraq veteran Major Dan Rooney, Folds of Honor provides post‐secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of U.S. military service members killed or disabled during service. Since its founding in 2007, the foundation has generated more than $9.8 million for post‐secondary education scholarships.
“I can’t wait to take the stage at the NRA Country Jam 2. It’s going to be a great show,” says Adkins. “Folds of Honor is an important cause and I’m happy to help give back to those who give so much for our freedom.”
For more information about the event visit NRA Country. To learn more about Folds of Honor, make a contribution or nominate a recipient, visit www.FoldsofHonor.org.
 Justin Moore’s latest single is a song about a guy giving his ex a hard time because she’s dating a guy he thinks is a wuss, who can’t even “Bait A Hook.” Justin expected guys would love the song, but he says, “What I was surprised by is the women saying, “Hell yeah”. It’s been cool to see on the road the girls that have kinda latched on to it and, I guess, have used it as their anthem.” Justin’s also happy that the song is bringing people out to his shows. “It’s one of those songs that people wanna come hear you play live.” And they can see him play it live out on the Well Lit & Amplified Tour with Blake Shelton, which stops next weekend in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Reba’s comedy pilot, Malibu Country, which follows a single mom who relocates her family to Malibu to re-launch her singing career, has been picked up for pilot by ABC-TV. Reba, manager Narvel Blackstock, Kevin Abbott (former Reba executive producer), Dave Stewart (formerly of the Eurythmics) and Pam Williams will executive produce.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 The Big Game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots takes place this Sunday, and many of your favorite country artists will be tuned in to watch the two teams battle it out. Lady Antebellum have hung out with Eli Manning, the QB for the Giants, so they have unanimously picked New York to cheer on.
Darius Rucker, who just performed a show during the pre-game festivities, has loved the game of football since he was just a little boy, and even now, he says there are only two times a year — “football season and waiting for football season.” “Ever since I was five, I’ve loved football. I love how physical it is, like, I love the chess match of the game. I love the speed of the game…I love college football, but for me watching pro football’s better, because the speed is so much more. But for me, there’s two times a year, man. There’s football season and waiting on football season.”
Dierks Bentley is also an avid football fan, and while he’s not publicly picking a side, he says he was hoping for this particular match-up. Keith Urban says his wife Nicole Kidman actually turned him on to pro football.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Keith Urban made his first public appearance since vocal surgery last night at the Ryman Auditorium. It will be the last performance on the famous stage as today renovations start on a new stage more able to bare the heavy musical equipment. The current stage is only the second in the 120-year history of the “Mother Church” of country music. The original was installed in 1901 for a performance of the Metropolitan Opera.
“When I was told earlier that the Ryman was going to start renovations on the stage after our show I thought, ‘you know, when we say we’re really gonna tear it up tonight, maybe they’re worried I mean it literally?” The 44-year-old Australian had a polyp removed from a vocal cord last November but you would have never known as he open the show with a “Yeehaw!” He proceeded to tear the place up with the high energy for which he is known. The highlight of the night was probably when he sang “Making Memories of Us” microphone-free with the audience.
Later this month, Urban will head to Sydney for a week of filming for the Australian version of “The Voice”. Urban will pop back and forth to Australia over the next few months while maintaining a busy schedule here in the United States that includes a second show at the Opry, the much anticipated third annual “All For The Hall” benefit concert on April 10th among other appearances and performances.
“It’ll be a blast spending a little time in Australia working on The Voice, getting the opportunity to try and help some killer raw talent blossom,” said Urban. “And I have a feeling that being immersed in that new kind of “everything is possible” energy, will have a real inspiring and liberating effect on creating new music for my new album!”
Much of Urban’s time over the course of the year will be spent at home in Nashville, where he’s already begun writing and finding songs for his next album. No release date set as of yet.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
Justin Moore catches a number one with “Bait A Hook” (Valory), Toby Keith flies “solo” at number two with “Red Solo Cup” (Show Dog Universal) and David Bradley cashes in on “If You Can’t Make Money” (Gecko Music productions) at number three.
Check Nashville.com every Friday for the latest Renegade Radio / Nashville.com Hot 40 Countdown and don’t forget to listen to Renegade Radio Nashville and Captain Jack while you’re checking it out or just keep it on all the time like we do! 
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Photo by James White Carrie Underwood’s new CD will be released on Tuesday, May 1. Produced by Mark Bright, the forthcoming album was featured in Entertainment Weekly’s recent “10 albums we can’t wait for.” This will be the fourth studio album on 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville for the five-time Grammy winner. The debut single co-written by Underwood, “Good Girl,” will be released to country radio on February 23.
Underwood’s February schedule is already gearing up with numerous appearances, performances, and events. Among those are “CMT Crossroads” with Aerosmith rock legend Steven Tyler (with initial airings on CMT Sat. Feb. 4th, 11pm ET and Sun. Feb 5th, 2am ET and 10am ET), an appearance at the 54th Grammy Awards, Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, a performance at the Nordstrom Nashville Symphony Fashion Show, and the digital release of her new single, “Good Girl.”
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Anyone who’s spent any time at all with Craig Morgan knows this is not a guy who’ll ever be content to be on the sidelines watching other people jump out of airplanes, race dirt bikes or go on a big game hunt any place in the world. He’s going to be right there in the thick of it himself, wringing every ounce out of his life while he’s got the chance. So, during a recent chat about his upcoming new This Ole Boy CD, set for release at the end of February, the lyrics of the great new tune, “Being Alive and Living,” prompted Craig to mention a couple of long-time goals he’s yet to achieve. Click on the audio link to hear what Craig’s still determined to do and check out our in-depth This Ole Boy chat with Craig later this month.
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—David Scarlett
Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com
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