Dierks Dedicates “Heart of a Lonely Girl” to His Wife?
He turns Ryman Auditorium show into a family affair, with songs for his wife, and a 3-year-old sidekick onstage.
OK, you might be able to understand why the guy got a little frazzled.
Dierks Bentley played the final stand-alone show at the historic Ryman Auditorium before the venue replaces the 61-year-old stage. And it's no ordinary stage, but rather where Hank Williams and Hank Jr. have both performed, a stage where the King, Elvis Presley, and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, played, a stage where every major country act you can think of played.
So yes, Dierks dedicated the song "Heart of a Lonely Girl" to his wife, Cassidy.
It started with a funny story about how his girls have been sick, so Cassidy shipped Dierks off to a nearby hotel for a while.
"Let me tell ya, when a country singer with a song called 'Home' walks into a hotel in the town he lives in with a backpack and guitar, you get some pretty odd looks," Dierks said, before adding, "Not sure how this segues into the song but it's going out to Cassidy wherever she is for helping me get through the last few days."
And he started "Heart of a Lonely Girl."
Dierks knew he messed up. After he was done with the song, Dierks told the crowd, "That might have been the worst introduction to a song I ever made in my life. OK, I need to redeem myself. OK, this one's for Cassidy," he said, before launching into the more appropriate "Come a Little Closer."
"It's the Ryman; I'm a little nervous," Dierks explained.
That self-effacing charm won over the crowd. So did a late-show move when Dierks brought their 3-year-old daughter, Evie, onto the stage for the song "Thinking of You."
Other special guests: bluegrass great Del McCoury and Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild.
But Evie stole the show.
© 2012
