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| Hometown hero Dierks Bentley shines at Country Thunder | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| By Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 20, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Exclusive: Blogging the 2008 Country Thunder festival From the stage Bentley gave shout outs to both KNIX (102.5 FM) and KMLE (107.9), the Valley country radio stations that fostered the singer’s love of country music as a kid growing up in Phoenix, mentioned Scottsdale honky tonk Rusty Spur Saloon and said that “it’s good to be home!” as he kicked off his set. Extra: View the slideshow With three gold albums and five Top 10 singles already under his belt, Bentley played a solid set of hits such as his current rising single, the ballad “Trying to Stop Your Leaving,” the honky tonker “Domestic, Light and Cold,” “How Am I Doin’” the Waylon Jennings-esque “Lotta Leavin’ Left to Do,” his 2003 breakthrough smash “What Was I Thinkin’” and “Settle for a Slowdown.” Bentley is a fine addition to the list of the Valley’s country music giants (Marty Robbins was a Glendale native and both Waylon Jennings and Buck Owens gave their careers a kick start in Valley honky tonks before moving on to Nashville and Bakersfield, Calif., respectively), and while Bentley may reside in Nashville now, he said from the stage that Arizona is “a place I can always call home.” “American Idol” season five alum Kellie Pickler proved to be a good live performer (after singing in front of millions of television viewers on “Idol,” performing in front of 25,000 fans must seem easy), belting out her current hit, the clever “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind,” the pretty ballad “I Wonder,” the honky-tonker “Red High Heels” and a cover of Dolly Parton’s (whom the singer somewhat resembles vocally) “9 to 5.” Billy Ray Cyrus’ career has been given a shot in the arm from his daughter Miley Cyrus (who stars with her dad on Disney’s “Hannah Montana”), whose duet with Billy Ray, “Ready, Set, Don’t Go,” has put the singer back on the charts after a long draught. Cyrus scored one of the biggest country hits of the ‘90s with 1992’s infectious “Achy Breaky Heart,” which livened up the crowd Saturday, and performed a good set of hits such as the honky-tonkin’ “Where’m I Gonna Live,” “She’s Not Crying Anymore,” the funny “I Want My Mullet Back,” “Some Gave All” and a cover of the Van Morrison classic “Brown-Eyed Girl.” Other acts who performed on the main stage Saturday were former “American Idol” contestant Bucky Covington, Queen Creek’s Harry Luge and Southern rockers Heartland, who scored a hit a few years ago with the ballad “I Loved Her First.” Contact Chris Hansen Orf by email, or phone (480) 898-5684 |
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