Dierks Bentley’s “Gravel & Gold Tour” at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids, MI (Sept 19, 2024) – A year after Dierks Bentley and his Gravel & Gold Tour took to the road, it finally finds it’s way into Grand Rapids and the Van Andel Arena. Beginning in June of 2023, the tour has traveled all across the country with numerous artists joining Bentley on stage. Tonight’s tour stop includes openers Chase Rice and Ella Langley. The tour coincides with Bentley’s latest studio album, Gravel & Gold, released back in February of 2023.
As in most concerts, you see the attendees taking their time getting to their seats throughout the opening acts before the headliner takes the stage. For tonight’s show, many more people rushed to get to their seats early to catch the performance by the new, hottest female in country music popularity today, Ella Langley.
Langley sets the bar high for the evening as she immediately comes out with her guitar for “Paint The Town Blue,” her debut promotional single to her full-length debut album Hungover, before grabbing a tambourine as she dances across the stage in “Better Be Tough.”
With the crowd’s energy on high and not needing any reason to hype the crowd anymore, she continues to do so by mentioning that she is from Alabama, however, her mother is from Michigan and attended Okemos High School, a suburb of Lansing, MI. Unbelievably, this is her first time playing in the state, but hoping to make it a regular visit going forward in the future.
Ella jumps back into the music with her debut single to country radio, “You Look Like You Love Me” normally sang with duet partner Riley Green, before singing the title track “Hungover” to her first studio album that was released August 5, 2024. She ends her explosive six-song set with “That’s Why We Fight.”
Langley is joined on stage tonight with her band that includes: Ben Flanders (lead guitar), Rye Jackson (bass guitar) and Howard Nunnelly (drums).
Ella Langley setlist:
Paint The Town Blue / Better Be Tough / Country Boy’s Dream Girl / You Look Like You Love Me / Hungover / That’s Why We Fight
Next to the stage is the party boy of the evening, Chase Rice. The artist that is always going out of his way to make sure everyone is having a good time, is having a good time himself this evening with reasons to celebrate. The day marks Rice’s 39th birthday and tonight’s show is his pre-album release party with his seventh studio album and first time as an independent artist, Go Down Singin’ releasing at midnight.
Rice starts his show off with “Bad Day To Be A Cold Beer” before cracking open his first of many Coors (sponsor) beers for the evening before continuing with his favorite song “Oklahoma” from his I Hate Cowboys And All Dogs Go To Hell album.
Chase turns his set into a venue sing-along with the crowd assisting with the Lynyrd Skynyrd cover of “Simple Man,” and his first as a songwriter, “Cruise” along with his first major-label single, “Ready Set Roll.”
Chase started playing guitar while attending college. He made a deal with his father to learn five songs with the guitar in order for his father to give it to him. After learning the five songs and receiving the guitar from his father, he passes two years later. Now, Rice plays the guitar every night on stage honoring his father by singing one those five songs. Tonight’s song is the John Denver cover of “Country Roads, Take Me Home.” During the song, he passes a mic to Trinity (girl in the crowd) to help sing along.
With the new album releasing later tonight, Rice performs the next single “Haw River” from it before taking the crowd back to 2019 and his first number one single, “Eyes On You.”
Taking a moment to be serious, Chase tells of a friend who was in a depressed state and was about to end it with a gun. His friend’s dog came and sat down beside him and put his head in his friend’s lap changing his mind. The friend is doing great now and was convincing enough that Chase went and got a dog. Missing his dog while on the road touring, he now brings his dog along on tour. The dog’s name is Jack and is a black lab, duck hunting dog. He comes out and sits at Chase’s feet while he sings “Bench Seat.”
Rice ends his part of the party on stage by throwing more beers into the crowd while singing “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.”
Joining Chase on stage is: John Souki (lead guitar), Jonas Ladekjaer (guitar), Marcelo Bakos (bass guitar), Philippe Bronchtein (utilities) and Jeremy Roberson (drums).
Chase Rice setlist:
Bad Day To Be A Cold Beer / Way Down Yonder / Oklahoma / Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover) / Cruise – Ready Set Roll / Country Roads, Take Me Home (John Denver cover) / Haw River / Lonely If You Are / Eyes On You / Bench Seat / Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen
As the crowds have moved to their seats and the pit in front of the stage is now full, signals it is time for headliner Dierks Bentley to take the stage. With stage lights slowly coming up, the band leads right into “Gold,” the co-title song of the current album, tour and Bentley’s tenth studio album.
While welcoming the crowd, Bentley tells them that he loves Grand Rapids and enjoys playing inside Van Andel Arena. He recalls the many times playing on stage, but is honored for the first time, when he opened for Kenny Chesney here. He mentions that he even reached out to Chesney earlier in the day, to tell him that he is “back in our spot.” At the same time, he thanks the crowd for continuing to come out and support him over the years. Bentley also talks of watching Langley’s and Rice’s sets earlier in the night and how it fired him up to play for them tonight. With the crowd cheering him on, he and the band dive into “I Hold On.”
Talking to his band, Bentley tells them of it being a big night as there are some serious VIP’s in the crowd. “We got some teachers out there tonight, we got some serious country music fans out there tonight,” as the crowd cheers on. “Hell, Kevin VanDam (professional bass fisherman from Otsego, MI) is out there somewhere. I’m gonna bring my A game tonight. I’m gonna turn it up to my preferred instrument….no one plays the red solo cup like I do. This is where I do my best work ya’ll.” With help from singer/songwriter/actor Charlie Worsham who is assisting on guitar for the tour, they sing “Am I The Only One” while also adding a snippet cover of “Red Solo Cup” by the late Toby Keith. During the song, Bentley brings two fans from the crowd to join him on stage to shotgun a beer with him. After the song, he jokes by asking them if they would like to join him at The Intersection after the show. After saying that he is not allowed to go there (due to security reasons), he does make comment that in his early career days he was the first country artist to play there.
With a career that has surpassed the 20+ year mark, ten studio albums and more than 30 singles, it is impossible to add all the hits to his one hour forty minute set. What he does add are his top hits, “Lot Of Leavin’ Left To Do,” “Living,” “Burning Man,” “Say You Do,” “Black” and “5-1-5-0.”
As a fan of music himself, Bentley rearranges the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers hit “American Girl” with a twist of fiddle and a country/bluegrass mix. Continuing on with fun and music, he is joined on stage by earlier opener Chase Rice to assist with the 2020 single “Gone.” Later in the show, Dierks and his band congregate at the front of the stage for a musical band jam that has a bit of a bluegrass sound. At the same time, Bentley introduces his band that consists of: Ben Helson (lead guitar), Charlie Worsham (guitar), Cassidy Feasby (guitar), Dan Hochhalter (fiddle, banjo), Steve Misamore (drums) and Tim Sargent (utilities).
The set ends with Dierks passing out beers to the crowd while singing “Somewhere On A Beach” and “What Was I Thinking” before exiting off the stage.
With the anticipation of an encore, the band returns to the stage and begins to play while Bentley staggers out to the stage wearing an airline pilot’s suit jacket, pilot’s hat, aviator glasses with a red solo cup in hand for the crowd favorite, “Drunk On A Plane.” When the song ends, he and his band exit off stage again with signs of another encore to come.
After a few moments, the rear video screen portrays Bentley and his band jumping on their tour bus and returning back to the 1990’s. You then see them as if they are climbing out of an old band van and returning back on stage as the 90’s cover band Hot Country Knights, dressed in mullet wigs and costumes suit to implement the 90’s. As the music begins, they break out into 90’s cover tunes that include “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” (Travis Tritt), “I Like It, I Love It” (Tim McGraw), “Meet In The Middle” (Diamond Rio), “Heads Carolina, Tails California” (Jo Dee Messina), “Achy Breaky Heart” (Billy Ray Cyrus), “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” (Shania Twain) and “Friends In Low Places” (Garth Brooks).
As the band walks off stage for the final time, the venue lights come up and the crowds head towards the exits, everyone shows pleasure in the night spent with great music by artists that put it all out there and leave it all on the stage. All three artists have a distinctive place in country music and have made an impact to the country music fan. As many artists feel a bit awkward reaching this level of professionalism and singing covers by other artists, Bentley has turned it into a passion by dressing up in costume, having fun and being goofy by playing music by artists that he grew up listening to and forged the path to what country music has become today. The night was a success with happy country music fans traveling home, waiting for the return of the next show.
Words by: Leslie Reasoner
Photos by: John Reasoner
Dierks Bentley setlist:
Gold / Lot Of Leavin’ Left To Do / I Hold On / Am I The Only One – Red Solo Cup (Toby Keith cover) / Living / Burning Man / American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover) / Free And Easy – Mountain Music (Alabama cover) / Gone (with Chase Rice) / Say You Do / Black / Up On The Ridge – Callin’ Baton Rouge (Garth Brooks cover) / Stick Season / 5-1-5-0 / Somewhere On A Beach / What Was I Thinkin’
Encore #1:
Drunk On A Plane
Encore #2:
Hot Country Knights / T-R-O-U-B-L-E (Travis Tritt) – I Like It, I Love It (Tim McGraw) – Meet In The Middle (Diamond Rio) – Heads Carolina, Tails California (Jo Dee Messina) – Achy Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus) – Man! I Feel Like A Woman! (Shania Twain) – Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks)
Dierks Bentley
Chase Rice
Ella Langley
Van Andel Arena