Dierks Bentley was always going to make an album about the West.
Cue his expansive ninth LP,The Mountain, which EW can exclusively reveal will drop June 8.
Is it a lyrical thing or a sonic thing?
Credit: Jim Wright
A visit to Wyoming last year helped him take the first step.
A summer set at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival solidified the direction.
Theres an intangible magic to that location, Bentley explains.
I thought, Man, I wish I could capture this feeling.
After, it was more about surrendering than planning, Bentley reveals.
The album pulled me through the paces, he says.
[It] had its own dharma; it knew what it wanted to be.
It was my job to just facilitate that process and stay out of the way.
One thing that never suffered was the work.
Ive always been afraid to not put the work in.
I was too nervous that things wouldnt work out.
The Mountainis due for release June 8.
It will be available forpre-ordertomorrow, April 13.
A full track list is below.
Bentley will alsolaunch his tourof the same name May 18 in Columbia, Maryland.
Dates stretch across 40 cities and five months, wrapping in October.
