If you're ever wondering who to invite to your party on a summer Friday night, the answer is Dierks Bentley. For real.
Bentley headlined the Boots & Hearts main stage Friday and hosted one hell of a party for (our estimate) 40,000 of his closest Canadian friends. Hell, he even invited a dude named Nick up onto the stage to shotgun a beer with him - and Dierks was the clear winner in speed of chug. We also watched as he got his drink topped up with what looked to be a 2:1 ratio of vodka to mix. This wasn't a quiet, dry get together. It was wet, loud, rowdy shindig.
When Dierks and the band took the stage there was immediate engagement and singing and clapping. It was a crowd ready for music, ready for his music, and they weren't disappointed. For an hour and a half the stage was his, the show was on fire, and the music played and played and played.
At one point, somewhere near the hour mark of the set, a loud Let's Go Blue Jays chant broke out in the crowd and took over... it was awesome, and led to Bentley commending the pride in the hometown team, and then asking what happened to the Expos, but we're pretty sure he didn't mean it in a mean way.
Dierks also let slip (he says he talks too much when he drinks) that there's a new tour coming, and that it looks like it's going to kick off in Hamilton, ON. So we'll be paying attention to his socials and website for more details about that!
In the last third of the show things got a little sideways (pun intended) when Dierks broke into Somewhere On A Beach ...
2) Dierks Bentley slid in some Lawn Chair Lazy lyrics, which made us super pumped for the dudes in the James Barker Band (who had Dierks show up as their surprise guest at Boots & Bourbon in Toronto on Thursday night).
3) This country music superstar looked, measured, and jumped into the crowd - across a 6 foot photo pit gap.
By the time Dierks Bentley came back on stage for Drunk On A Plane as an encore... complete with the nose of a plane and Dierks himself in a full pilot's uniform (until he ripped off his tear-away pants) the crowd was in full out sing and dance and drink and party mode. Yes, the song closed the show, but it also gave everybody one more reason to make sure they see Dierks again... maybe in 2019 if the 2 years off and then back pattern continues!
Dierks Bentley Set List, Boots & Hearts 2016
Up On The Ridge
Free and Easy (Down The Road I Go)
Tip It On Back
Am I The Only One
51-50
Say You Do
What The Hell Did I Say
Different For Girls
I Hold On
Every Mile A Memory
Black
Feel That Fire
Riser
Freedom
Somewhere On A Beach
What Was I Thinkin'
Sideways
Encore
Drunk On A Plane
!!!FIREWORKS!!!