Dierks Bentley Goes Bluegrass in Telluride with New Band Long Jon
For continuing coverage from the 50th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, follow Saving Country Music on Instagram.
You really have to admire Dierks Bentley, no matter what you think of his big radio singles or major label releases. You can put him in the class of one of the most successful modern country artists. And sure, he’s had to tow the line with Music Row at times to get there. But it’s unmistakable that he also takes the time to follow his heart, and do what he wants to do, even if that comes at the detriment of revenue in the long-term.
The 50th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival commenced on Thursday, June 15th in Colorado, and for Dierks, it might as well be in his backyard. A part-time Telluride resident, Dierks often shows up for the festivities, even if he’s not directly participating. Last year he proved just how much of a good dude he was by sticking around in the rain for the first Telluride headlining set by Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway. Dierks had jumped on stage with Tuttle in previous years, and recently took her out as an opener.
But this year, Dierks did more than just attend. Though he wasn’t mentioned by name anywhere on the festival posters or in the publicity copy, Dierks was there with his dedicated bluegrass band called Long Jon. In 2022, Long Jon started making appearances at the legendary Station Inn in Nashville, known for being the home of bluegrass in Music City, and where Dierks got his start in town way back in 1994. Soon a standing residency on the first Tuesday of every month started coming together.
Joining Dierks Bentley in Long Jon is:
–Guitarist and Bluegrass Director at Bethel University Ben Helson, who Dierks refers to as the true leader of the band.
–Solo performer and well-known banjo player Charlie Worsham
–Fiddle and mandolin player (and full-time Dierks Bentley touring musician) Dan Hochhalter.
–Dobro player Josh Matheny.
–Banjo player Tim Sergent.
–Dierks band bass player Cassady Feasby.
–Dierks band drummer Steve Misamore.
What or who is Long Jon named for? The real Long Jon is Dierks Bentley’s tour bus driver.
Grinning from ear to ear, Dierks said about Long Jon making their debut at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, “It’s the greatest stage in the world, and the greatest view.” It was also Charlie Worsham’s first time playing the festival, despite playing with anyone and everyone in country and bluegrass for years.
Long Jon’s set was mostly filled with bluegrass standards, and showed extra favor to the catalog of Jimmy Martin, from “Sugar Coated Love” to “Freeborn Man.” Dierks also played a couple of selections from his recent Colorado-inspired album Gravel & Gold including “Sun Sets in Colorado” and “Still.”
Though Dierks is definitely the big name of the band, all the members took turns singing and soloing, except Bentley didn’t play any solos. He left that to the experts, and humorously blamed having the wrong pick for flatpicking as his excuse. With the level of the talent on the stage, Dierks was smart to cede attention to the other players.
At one point, fiddle player Jason Carter and Ronnie McCoury of the Del McCoury Band joined Dierks and Long Jon on stage for “Fire On The Mountain” and “Midnight Flyer.” Later members of Greensky Bluegrass and Sam Bush also joined in. Near the end, Charlie Worsham sang a version of Jimmy Martin’s “Homesick” that was absolutely divine (see full set list at bottom).
Even though Dierks Bentley might be considered a bit too mainstream for the bluegrass world, the Long Jon set was definitely appropriate and highly-appreciated by the Telluride Bluegrass faithful who had to fight through fits of mountain rain during the afternoon set.
Of course Dierks has a long history with bluegrass himself, first coming up at The Station Inn in Nashville, and releasing the album Up on the Ridge in 2010 featuring The Del McCoury Band, Alison Krauss, Chris Thile, and The Punch Brothers, all of whom are also playing the 50th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival this weekend.
Dierks has another side project with his band, the side-splitting 90s-inspired Hot Country Knights that just released a new single “Herassmeant.” It’s these kinds of efforts that separate him from the mainstream country herd.
But it all started with bluegrass, for Dierks Bentley, and for country music. Dierks knows that more than anyone. And even though he does his time cutting radio singles and playing arenas, he also takes the time to pay homage to the past. And with Dierks, you know it’s not just for presentation. It comes from his passion for the bluegrass art form.
All photos Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos
(Mostly complete) Set List:
Instrumental
Mountain Dew
John Hardy
Sugar Coated Love (Jimmy Martin)
Guitar Picking President (Jimmy Martin)
Drink Up and Go Home (Jimmy Martin)
Come Back To Me Is My Request (Billy Monroe)
Somewhere Between Me and You
All By Myself
Sunsets in Colorado (Dierks Bentley song)
Still (Dierks Bentley Song)
Fire on the Mountain (with Jason Carter & Ronnie McCoury)
Midnight Flyer (with Jason Carter & Ronnie McCoury)
Last Call for Alcohol (Ronnie McCoury)
A song with Greensky Bluegrass folks
Homesick (Jimmy Martin, sung by Charlie Worsham)
Freeborn Man (Jimmy Martin)
June 15, 2023 @ 6:55 pm
Love when DB embraces older country & bluegrass. He shines!
June 15, 2023 @ 7:04 pm
Minority opinion here, no doubt, but I have never been a fan of Bluegrass music. From Bill Monroe, to Flatt & Scruggs, Jimmie Martin and all others, I just can’t find anything about it that appeals to me, EXCEPT for the fact that I am mightily impressed with the musicianship that is the hallmark of the genre. Those guys are stellar performers on the Martins, mandolins and banjos. However, whenever I hear a Bluegrass tune, I can’t help but remember the old musicians’ joke about the definition of “perfect pitch,” which is when you throw the banjo into the trash can and hit the accordion that was already in there.
June 16, 2023 @ 2:21 am
I can relate to not finding the “typical” traditional bluegrass voice appealing, and I usually changed the station if it was bluegrass playing on a sunday but I cannot understand how anyone wouldn’t love Alison Krauss and Union Station or Nickle Creek/Punch Brothers/Chris Thile.
And Dierks is basically a prostitute with a 4 yr college degree
June 16, 2023 @ 9:48 am
I DO like Allison Krauss. And I like songs that were originally Bluegrass that have been “modernized” by others. For instance, who doesn’t like Elvis Presley’s, “Blue Moon of Kentucky” or Roger Millers, “Footprints in the Snow?”
June 16, 2023 @ 2:09 pm
Yes for introducing people not into bluegrass, AKUS, Sierra Hull, Stapleton-era Steeldrivers, Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings are good go-tos off the top of my head. Then Del McCoury Band, Greensky Bluegrass, The Dead South…
June 16, 2023 @ 3:24 pm
Del McCoury performed a really funny song on the Marty Stuart Show, about some rich guy from the city moving out into the country next to McCoury. Referring to the rich guy and his little farm, the name of the tune is “Forty Acrea and a Fool.”
June 16, 2023 @ 6:33 am
Have you ever listened to The Dillards? They played the Darling Boys on The Andy Griffith Show and on that show they did songs even non bluegrass fans like like Dooley, Mocking Banjos (a variation of Dueling Banjos that predated it’s use in Deliverance by being played in the episode “Briscoe declares for Aunt Bea) Ebo Walker and Dance all night stay a little longer. For non bluegrass they also did a wonderful rendition of Leaning on the everlasting arms that should’ve been released on an album and There is a time that Maggie Peterson sang
June 16, 2023 @ 7:10 am
I felt the same way about bluegrass for a long time. Loved the instrumentation but hated the vocals. Funny story me and my Dad were driving through Pidgeon Forge, TN and he was switching through the radio stations and found a Bluegrass/Country station. It was a super traditional bluegrass song. Now my dad is a rock & roll guy and kept it on that station due to my love of country music. I didn’t really care about bluegrass till much later. it must have been 7 in the morning and after 5 minutes he knudged me and said “Son, you see this here cup of coffee?” I said Yeah. He then said “As soon as I’m done with this here cup of coffee that shit is going off” I laughed so hard and said Dad you can change the channel I don’t like bluegrass that much. He said “Thank God!, That Is the worst “Music” i’ve heard”. I tell that story all the time and we laugh about still.
June 16, 2023 @ 9:02 pm
Sometimes it is good to listen to older things you don’t fully enjoy or understand. I was this way in high school when the rock stations played blues on sunday afternoons. After awhile I started to appreciate it more and more. And you start to hear the difference between Howlin’ Wolf’s “chair album” and the Steven Segall/Jim Belushi (according to Jim) weekend blues bands.
June 16, 2023 @ 5:58 am
Once again, some really great pictures.
Wishing you a wonderful time throughout the weekend.
June 16, 2023 @ 8:04 am
Need a photo of Trig’s Winnebago!
June 16, 2023 @ 8:07 am
Was wondering earlier if Trig was at Waylon’s campground, just for the sake of checking it out – or if he was headed other places as well.
Now we know!
Lucky duck
June 16, 2023 @ 6:08 am
Yeah I appreciate an artist embraces Bluegrass which feels like one of the roots of Country Music.
Was listening to JD Crowe & the New South yesterday and thinking what great music they made!
Bigtex, you might like them!
June 16, 2023 @ 6:46 am
Dierks is extremely talented. Say what you will about his later albums( crap) but don’t overlook his early work, definitely listen to Up on The Ridge. I don’t think he is quite ready to go all in on the grass like Ricky Skaggs did, probably for financial reasons, but he’s intriguingly inching his way closer to the real deal stuff.
Trig I know it must be a real sacrifice to have to go two years in a row to Telluride, I’m feeling it for you! You are a noble man, taking one for the team! ????
June 16, 2023 @ 6:37 am
Now that is a Dierks Bentley side project I can get behind. And look at the view. I’m so jealous.
June 16, 2023 @ 7:18 am
That would have been awesome to see!
June 16, 2023 @ 8:00 am
What a great festival. I went in 2019 and had a great time. For those here that do like bluegrass (no clue how you can’t), the Stringdusters have a tribute album to Flatt & Scruggs being released today.
June 16, 2023 @ 4:34 pm
Bentley’s earlier records have some good song on them. He cut his teeth on Bluegrass, and has recorded some solid music in the genre, as well. Good on him now that his mainstream success is mostly behind him for diving deeper into the grass.
June 16, 2023 @ 8:15 pm
I saw Long Jon at The Station Inn in January and highly recommend that show. Dierks lets his whole band have the spotlight. In that regard, Long Jon reminds me of Vince Gill’s shows with The Time Jumpers a few years ago.
June 20, 2023 @ 3:26 pm
They played at 7 Peaks on the small side stage during a big set. Sad that isn’t happening this year.