Dierks Bentley’s “Hot Country Knights” Just Got Real
So Dierks Bentley’s whole “Douglas ‘Doug’ Douglason and Hot Country Knights” 90’s country side project has been good fun and everything, or at the least a little bit curious if you’re a country fan, even if it’s been hard to know just what exactly to make of it all beyond a way for Bentley and his touring band to blow off some steam and get silly for a little bit.
The mystery and oddball nature of the project is part of the fun of course, but after the group officially signed to Universal Music Nashville early in January, it made it even harder to draw a bead on what exactly was going on here. Would this be an outright covers project of 90’s country tunes (even though the garb of Hot Country Knights is probably more late 80’s), would it be a straight up comedy album, or something else entirely?
Now the Hot Country Knights have released their first song called “Pick Her Up” with Travis Tritt guesting on the track, and granted, it’s a little silly and will have some mistaking it as some twangy version of Bro-Country because a pickup truck is mentioned. But taking the song in stride with the spirit behind Hot Country Knights, it’s kind of badass.
Country as all get out, “Pick Her Up” is chock full of country music cliches and list-tastic lyrics that somehow work by being completely self-aware and witty, along with awakening that nostalgia in you when the worst thing you would hear on the radio dial was a kind of shallow song from someone like Travis Tritt. It’s country music laughing at itself, which is a time treasured tradition in country that just like fiddle and steel guitar, has been completely drip dried out of much of today’s mainstream music.
But there is another dynamic to this song and Hot Country Knights worthy of taking note of. This is not just a screw off single ahead of a frivolous side project. All jokes aside, “Pick Her Up” is going to be released and promoted to country radio come February 3rd, and UMG Nashville will be looking to make it a bonafide hit.
“It’s become less of a side project and my main focus for at least the first half of the year,” Dierks Bentley recently told Billboard, speaking in the capacity as the “producer” of Hot Country Knights as opposed to his character, Douglas ‘Doug’ Douglason. “I’m not really in a rush to get off this. It’s really fun and I think it’s really needed in country music right now. [The country genre], myself included, can take themselves way too seriously. This is a good reminder of why I got into country music, which is great songs, great personalities, great people, characters, colors and energy. It’s a nice way for me to reset my next project, just by being around these guys.”
Speaking in the capacity of Douglas ‘Doug’ Douglason, Dierks said, “You listen to the radio right now, oh my gosh. You wonder why there’s not a lot of girls on the radio, and it’s because the guys are singing all the girls’ songs. You’ve got the guys who are singing bro country, but they’re also doing boyfriend country. They’ve stolen the entire format from women. We need some guys to come out there and put a little ‘T’ back in country—a little testosterone. So we want to put it out there and get it going. And that song really got the juices flowing.”
Whatever persona you want to listen to, or however you want to slice it, Hot Country Knights just got real. And in the same way Dierks Bentley’s record Up On The Ridge became an entry point for many into the world of bluegrass, Douglas ‘Doug’ Douglason and Hot Country Knights could be the gateway drug back to a time when country was country. And if Hot Country Knights singles do well on radio right beside the more country singles that are already starting to pepper the charts more than any other time in the last 10 years, who knows where this could lead.
Granted, you’re going to hear plenty of grumbles about how stupid the lyrics on “Pick Her Up” are, but that’s missing the point. Of course they’re stupid. Dierks Bently is singing them in a mesh top with razor sunglasses. But the music, and the spirit with which Dierks is approaching this Hot Country Knights thing is spot-on, and so incredibly refreshing from a mainstream artist. Dirks has once again cemented his place as one of the “good guys” on a major country label, and “Pick Her Up” could do some serious good and help pull country out of the gutter if it gets traction on country radio.
January 24, 2020 @ 10:15 am
OMG, the album cover is hilarious!
Tear it up you guys!
January 24, 2020 @ 10:17 am
In the end it’s just Dierks Bentley singing and his voice is a tough pill to swallow.
January 24, 2020 @ 10:37 am
That, and the lame fact that the only way he can put out a halfway (or quarter-way in this case) decent song is to do it under the guise of a novelty / joke act.
January 24, 2020 @ 10:20 am
My favorite part of this project has been when HCK “opens” for Dierks and people get legit mad thinking it’s a real band. Sometimes the best projects are being self aware and giving a wink and nod to the audience like this. Theres also a lot of truth said in jest with Douglas comments.
On another note what do you think Trig of how Dolly Parton has been getting a lot of attention this week because of her starting a now viral meme?
January 24, 2020 @ 3:29 pm
All great comedy is rooted in truth. That is one of the great things about this project.
Dolly has been going viral for the last six months. Podcasts, Netflix series, TV specials, it’s been crazy. Not surprised something else is now taking fire.
January 24, 2020 @ 10:29 am
Somebody actually still writes country songs?
January 24, 2020 @ 10:36 am
Have you been living under a rock? This is about a 2 out of 10 as far as actual country music being produced these days goes.
January 24, 2020 @ 10:38 am
I missed this Dierks!
January 24, 2020 @ 11:05 am
Listening to it, makes me miss hearing Travis’ voice on radio. Even in a limited role, his voice still sounds awesome.
January 24, 2020 @ 11:33 am
you got that right , kris …..character, soul , commitment to a song …TT always brings that .
unfortunately having him on board here , as appreciated as it is , just contrasts with dierk’s LACK of all those things vocally .
January 26, 2020 @ 1:26 pm
Agreed. Where the Corn Don’t Grow is a favorite of mine.
January 24, 2020 @ 11:28 am
sawyer brown , confederate railroad , garth ……they all covered this ground . . ……
isn’t this just ‘bad rock with a fiddle “?
and BTW…NOBODY does or has done this schtick smarter and better and more consistently than brad paisley ..lyrically , musically , tongue-in-cheekly .
and brad never went bro and back .
dierks is having fun ? great …..works hard ……deserves to have some fun . miranda does it every third song on her records …… and yeah …..country sure needs to ‘fess-up’ for a lot .but dierks also gave us ‘ drunk on a plane ‘ and lots of other shelton-ish pap before shelton did .
in fairness…dierks has indeed tried to give us ‘real’ more often than many . but a ‘country’ version of spinal tap ? …hmmm .
January 24, 2020 @ 12:36 pm
Confederate Railroad in my opinion got too silly later in their career. But they have some great songs. “Jesus and Mama”, Daddy Never Wad The Cadillac Kind” and “When You Leave that Way You Can Never Go Back”. “Trashy Woman” is also very fun
January 24, 2020 @ 2:13 pm
“Queen Of Memphis” is also one of my favorites by Confederate Railroad, along with the other songs listed above. Sawyer Brown also put out a lot of great stuff in the early 90’s, imo.
January 24, 2020 @ 1:14 pm
Drunk on a plane is pure genius. What seems like a up tempo party song on the surface, is actually a sad country song, if you look deeper. Instead of getting drunk at a bar to drown his sorrows he is getting drunk on a plane.
January 26, 2020 @ 6:02 pm
I’d add that within the Riser album, the melancholy of Drunk On a Plane works really well with the somberness that pervades that album.
June 22, 2020 @ 6:00 pm
Compared to Florida Georgia line?? This would be solid country gold! It’s self deprecating AND they made Kelly kapowski look like the young Kelly kapowski… my Sirius Xm is expired so I have to listen to garbage, I would much rather hear this..
January 24, 2020 @ 11:33 am
That video is incredible. How fun!
January 24, 2020 @ 11:35 am
Fun stuff.
Country music across the spectrum has forgotten the art of the novelty song.
January 24, 2020 @ 11:41 am
I love 90s/ Honky Tonk Country. I grew up listening to it. But I think it’s gonna take me some time warming up to this group if ever… What’s with the fake image? Bugs me just as much as the Chris Gaines thing. They can be fun/ funny/ make country music without being fake about it.
January 24, 2020 @ 12:11 pm
Must’ve raided Midland’s closet.
January 24, 2020 @ 12:54 pm
Hot Country Nights … that was the TV show on Sunday nights (?) on NBC in the 90s. I remember watching it as a kid. We may have all ready covered that.
January 24, 2020 @ 12:59 pm
Kelly looking straight fire still
January 24, 2020 @ 1:17 pm
First impression of the video- clean version of Walker Wheelson Junior or whatever his name was….that comedian who sang disgusting songs that people with IQs less than 60 thought were real and great.
I like the song. If it was released by Travis alone, or by Dierks and Travis, I’d like it more. Funny how it takes some kind of gimmick to get radio or reviews to get excited about it.
I wish Trigger could host the ACM or CMA awards, and let the artists have like Ricky Gervais did Hollywood. Trig, what would you say if you had that opportunity?
January 24, 2020 @ 2:20 pm
Something tells me they wouldn’t have me.
January 25, 2020 @ 8:44 pm
And if they did, they certainly wouldn’t have you back, even though you’d be our hero.
January 24, 2020 @ 1:46 pm
Travis tritt, guitar solos, high tops, track jackets, and Kelly Kapowski!…..im home!!
January 24, 2020 @ 2:19 pm
Always good to hear Tritt. This is hilarious. Just good ole’ fun. Some of you stuffed-shirts are taking it way to serious.
January 24, 2020 @ 2:31 pm
my taste in novelty acts only goes as far as Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, Riders in the Sky, the Geezinslaw Brothers, Williams and Ree, and Asleep at the Wheel (all of whom I’ve seen live), and Lester “Roadhog” Moran & the Cadillac Cowboys (who I’ve not). I’ll pass on dierks with or without mr. douglason.
January 24, 2020 @ 3:15 pm
A Lester RoadHog Moran mention on this website…. AHHHWWLLLLL-RIGGGHHHTTT!!!!
January 25, 2020 @ 3:59 am
as far as novelty act goes, how about Russell Smith/ Run C&W?
January 24, 2020 @ 2:33 pm
I’ve actually missed these kind of upbeat songs that we used to get in the 90’s, since I grew up with them. They may not have necessarily been the best that 90’s country had to offer, but they were still pretty fun to listen to. And it’s still very refreshing compared to a lot of been on the radio in the last several years. These kind of songs are proof that country can still be fun even when it actually sounds country and doesn’t feature hand claps, snaps, rapping, trashy lyrics, etc. Even if they’re just a novelty act, I’m totally in, if this is the kind of music to expect from them. Love the guest vocal from Travis on this song, too!
January 24, 2020 @ 3:03 pm
“You wonder why there’s not a lot of girls on the radio, and it’s because the guys are singing all the girls’ songs.”
Truth.
January 24, 2020 @ 3:24 pm
Truck or no, there’s nothing about this that is Bro-Country. It actually reminds me of what Luke Combs is doing and very similar to 3,2, 1 too many on his new album.
Unfortunately in the height of boyfriend country, I can’t see radio playing it much. It will be lucky to enter top 20.
January 24, 2020 @ 3:45 pm
Sounds like they are mocking country music to me. One listen was more than enough for me.
January 24, 2020 @ 4:12 pm
This song is straight up “Dad Country “… sounds like an album cut from Garth Brooks ….
January 24, 2020 @ 4:22 pm
What I’m trying to say is, this song is kind of lame & feels outdated…
Current artists bringing the twang & the steel are doing so in a fresh, innovated way (like Combs, Midland, Pardi, even Justin Moore ) Their songs feel modern yet have a traditional style to them..
Hot Country Knights seem outdated out of the gate, but maybe that’s the goal? They are supposed to be a 90s band stuck in a different decade lol
January 25, 2020 @ 5:08 pm
It’s suppose to sound outdated. That’s the point ????????♂️
January 26, 2020 @ 11:15 am
Eh, this song would of been lame in 1995 too. It sounds like an album cut that was never to be a radio single on a 1995 Garth album … The fact that this is a lead radio single is a bit underwhelming
January 24, 2020 @ 4:16 pm
I’d love to see a review of Texas artist Wynn Williams debut album released today. Solid album that is currently sitting in the top 10 on iTunes!
January 24, 2020 @ 6:29 pm
Thought there was already a fake country band.
Midland.
January 24, 2020 @ 7:51 pm
Midland’s backstory may not be legit, but their music is definitely real country music. They aren’t afraid of a steel guitar
January 25, 2020 @ 6:33 am
Nah King Callaway is the fake country band you’re thinking of
January 25, 2020 @ 5:55 am
Very Kevin Fowler-esque
January 25, 2020 @ 9:21 am
I like Dierks and I am looking forward to this project but this song just sounds like an album cut from his self-titled album or his second, Modern Day Drifter. It’s not bad, but I wish Dierks would just be the old Dierks rather than having to make a comedy act to do so.
January 25, 2020 @ 4:02 pm
It is good to be multifaceted.
January 25, 2020 @ 6:31 pm
The song is ALRIGHT. Where the real magic is though is the outro solo (best heard unedited on the longer album version). This is where the band really shines. I used to think that Free Bird was the magnum opus to which all other solo’s should be judged but I think we might have a new champion. They took that original TROUBLE solo and really expanded upon it. The way it builds is just on another level. Seamlessly flowing from one instrument to the next for almost a minute and a half left me breathless. My hat is off to the entire band for really showing us what true genius is all about. I play guitar so I know what I’m talking about and if anybody wants I actually took the time to tab out this bad boy. Thanks again guys. BTW are any of you related to Lester “Roadhog” Moran by chance? Seems like you might be.
January 26, 2020 @ 1:57 am
I’m not sure how long this novelty is going to last but on a first listen it really does sound like some shit my uncle would listen to.
January 26, 2020 @ 7:56 am
Who? Is this one of Miranda’s exes?
January 26, 2020 @ 8:41 am
Take or leave the song you gotta admit that video was hilarious. I am glad this exists hahaha
January 27, 2020 @ 7:28 am
As Sturgill said, “I’m tired of ya’ll playing dress-up and trying to sing them old country songs.”
January 29, 2020 @ 12:46 pm
This is my kind of dumb comedy. Setting it to some rockin’ country music just seals the deal for me. I grew up with stupid azzholes like this, and man did we have fun!
Would be nice if there was some substance to go along with this, though. Guess we’ll find out.
January 30, 2020 @ 4:46 am
This song sounds just like T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Reading most of these comments make me feel this is why country music went to crap in the 10s. This style music was exactly how the 90s sounded. Fiddle. Steel. Acoustic. 2-step and line dancing. I would love if that style came back. The 80s and 90s and early 2000s were amazing. 80% of my country collection are from that time. RAY STEVENS if you were thinking country novelty. Anyway from the stuffiness if these comments I don’t feel “prime country” will ever make a return. “Outdated” and “joke” wasn’t anything I thought of when I heard this song. I live for the Strait and the Brooks and the Womack and the Singletary and the Rimes and Oak Ridge moments. Who remembers “I Should Have Asked Her Faster” ? Stuffy.
February 17, 2020 @ 7:09 pm
“Asphalt” is a pretty great follow up and it is fun to hear them basically channeling Spinal Tap