Gravel & Gold

For his 10th studio album, Dierks Bentley turned inward. Dropping five years after its predecessor, 2018’s critically acclaimed The Mountain, Gravel & Gold braids together three strands prominent in Bentley’s catalogue: the hook-heavy commercial country sound of both his early days and his biggest hits; traditional, bluegrass-inspired arrangements, as first heard on his underrated 2010 project Up on the Ridge; and a mature, narrative approach to songwriting often eschewed by other male artists in the format. The resulting sound may not hew closely to current trends, but it reflects the kind of music Bentley tells Apple Music he’s been longing to make. Accordingly, the record is Bentley’s most personal and introspective, with a focus on being present and feeling gratitude. “For some people, [a road] is gravel,” Bentley tells Apple Music. “For other people, those roads are where the best moments of life happen. I think that's the overall theme of the record: just being present in the moment you're in, having an attitude of gratitude and finding the positive in some of the rougher moments of life.” Highlights on the album include “Gold”, a title track of sorts that brings Bentley’s gravel-road metaphor to midtempo life, and the Ashley McBryde collaboration “Cowboy Boots”, which allows the two stars a chance to indulge in a good old-fashioned country duet. The album ends on a “High Note” as guitar virtuoso Billy Strings joins Bentley for a rousing romp about burning one down. Below, Bentley shares insight into several key tracks on Gravel & Gold. “Sun Sets in Colorado” “Part of what Gravel & Gold is about is coming back to Nashville and seeing the positive. I've lived here for 30 years, and I've been trying to get out of it for 30 years. I mean, it's a great town. I love Nashville. But I think there's a point after 10, 15 years where I kind of want to go back home to Arizona. That's where I'm from. When the pandemic happened, I was already in Colorado, and we ende