This week on Backstage Country, Dierks Bentley shares the side fans don’t always see: the devoted husband and hands-on dad. Co-hosting alongside Elaina Smith from June 9–13, Bentley is opening up about family life, fatherhood, and his side hustles.
Dierks Bentley, the Dad
Now that he’s married and already a father, Smith asked Bentley how his life has changed over the years, specifically, no more driving trucks. The Grammy-Awards nominated singer chuckled, “I still have my 94 Chevy. That's outside of town a little bit. I was driving around the other day, listening to Keith Whitley on a CD. It's amazing how much better CDs sound. I hadn't listened to one in a while. I mean, the kids these days will never know, but a CD just sounds so much better than streaming. It's just crazy, the depth of the recording. But yeah, I got the Tahoe because in the back of that truck right now, I've got kids hockey gear.”
Bentley, the Side Hustler
Aside from being a husband, father, and country music star, Bentley also has a lot of business ventures. Smith asked how involved he is with Row 94 Whiskey. He replied, “Yeah, just like anything, heavily involved. I think about it all the time. It's just one of those things that financially I'm involved in, but more importantly, just like the sweat equity of doing the work to get the right juice from day one. But so, I have this bar called Whiskey, a few bars called Whiskey Row, the first one opened in Arizona in 2012. Since then, I thought, ‘I have a bar called Whiskey Row. I should have my own whiskey, right?’”
He chuckled, “The amount of whiskey I've drank over the years, it's time to return the favor, maybe someone drank mine. It wasn't until COVID that I was able to set the guitar down and kind of really dive into it. I started reading books, listening to podcasts, obviously tasting different bourbons out there, and just learning a lot more about it. I had a lot of experience in it as a consumer but not as a connoisseur. I just got really interested in the whole industry.”
