A Yankee's Honest Perspective of A Country Concert
Before I bought my ticket, I only knew Dierks Bentley from the 5-Hour Energy commercials, but damn, was I blown away.
Written by Jessica Regan
A Dierks Bentley concert. Photo courtesy of The San Diego Union-Tribune
Growing up in suburban New Jersey, I grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi while most of my friends here in Texas grew up with George Strait. Aside from a few summer events at the PNC Bank Arts Center, country concerts were few and far between. Certain parts of the state had a country music station called Thunder 106.3 FM. On busy weekends, my family would drive the ‘backway’ north from our beach house to avoid sitting in traffic on the Parkway, taking us through a less populated, more rural area of the state. Thunder 106 would always come on, and someone would groan and try to find The Hawk instead, a classic rock station that was more up our alley. My parents gave me what they grew up with, and it just wasn’t country music.
I was never one of those people who claimed they listened to “everything but country,” nor did I detest the genre; I just didn’t know much about it. My mom went through a Sugarland phase, and my friends would occasionally play “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith or “Country Girl (Shake it for Me)” by Luke Bryan, but that was about all of my country knowledge.
When I got to UT, I was quickly thrown into the world of country music my freshman year. I was forced to go two-stepping for an awkward sorority date event. I heard the sounds reverberating out of the bar doors on 6th Street, and “Texas Longhorn” by Django Walker was played more times than I can count. .
Earlier this year, someone in my sorority posted in one of our Facebook groups saying they had received a UT student discount for the Dierks Bentley Mountain High tour. My friends texted in a group message about going, and I ignored it since I never heard a single song by him. I was then told I had to go, so I bought my ticket, because why not?
The day of the concert, I dressed up like I would for game day and loaded into my friend’s car for the drive. Pulling up, I could see families tailgating, couples walking to the gates and more cowboy boots than ever before. It dawned on me that it had been a long time since I had gone to an all-ages concert, or one that anyone over 30 would be interested in.
As soon as Bentley started to perform, everyone was on their feet. I saw old couples dancing and twirling each other in their arms, kids running around on the lawn, and members of the crowd singing and clapping along. Even when it started raining, no one left. And everyone was smiling.
Unlike shows I’d been to before, there was no pushing or shoving, I didn’t ever feel like I was going to pass out, and everyone stood in their seats and danced. I almost forgot what going to an assigned-seat concert was like, since the concerts I have attended recently have been music festivals that featured mainly rap or EDM artists.
Bentley and his band gave a truly tremendous performance. The concert was more energized than I ever expected. For starters, I had never realized the true range of country music until then. There were upbeat, emotional, and even goofy songs, like “Drunk on a Plane,” which Bentley performed in a pilot’s costume suspended above the stage, backed by his own intro flight safety spoof video.
Photo courtesy of Parade
The lighting and visuals were on-point, changing the entire stadium’s mood with each song. Bentley engaged with his crowd more than most artists, high fiving and waving to everyone he could. He ran around the stadium before moving to a smaller platform in the middle of the stadium and shotgunned a beer with a fan. I even found myself tearing up when he performed “Riser,” which he dedicated to a fan he met who said the song got her through her toughest times.
Whether it was the atmosphere or the music, I found myself reminiscing on the Bruce Springsteen concerts I had gone to with my family throughout my childhood. “Riser” reminded me specifically of Springsteen’s song “The Rising,” not only by its title but its tone. Written in the wake of 9/11, “The Rising” has a lot of emotional meaning for not only me, but my family, and everyone else who was affected by that tragic day.
Where I’m from, everybody has a strong connection to that day, and still feels that pain and sadness when looking back on it. Bentley’s “Riser” clearly had the same effect on the girl who Bentley met, helping her cope with her own struggles. Although both songs surround dark times, they are extremely uplifting and call out one’s inner strength when they need it most.
Springsteen wrote his album The Rising when a stranger told him, “We need you now,” and that embodies the effect Bentley’s performance had on all of us watching. His music has clearly changed lives. People were there for the love of the artist, and you could truly sense that. Everyone had memories connected to the songs, the melodies, and the lyrics.
Image courtesy of Giphy
I understood how they felt, and I sang and clapped along, living in the moment as much as I could. Although I was out of place, I felt welcomed. Everyone was there to have a good time and to enjoy the music. That’s what music can do to you, even if you don’t know the words.
To make a long story short, in my first experience with live country music, I had an amazing time. My entire life I have heard people say that country music is boring, that it all sounds the same, and that it’s downright bad. Coming from someone with an unbiased perspective, let me be the one to tell you — none of that is true.