How Dierks Bentley Became The First Country Artist Banned From The Grand Ole Opry Before Ever Performing There

From being banned by the Opry to becoming a member.

There are several artists who have been banned by the Grand Ole Opry over the years, including Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and maybe most famously, Hank Williams.

But did you know Dierks Bentley was banned before he had even performed on the Opry’s historic stage?

Unlike the others who have been unceremoniously invited not to come back, Dierks wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol, cursing on stage, or kicking out the footlights when he had his invite to the Opry stripped away – because he never even got the chance to perform before being banned.

Upon moving to Music City, Dierks took a job as a researcher at The Nashville Network. (Remember watching that channel growing up? Those were the days). Well part of job there was to follow the news on the latest country songs and albums. And because the network was located on Opryland grounds, he was in constantly in close proximity to the Opry House every day, and he began sneaking over to hang out backstage with the artists who were set to perform at night.

Seems like that’s just some boots on the ground journalism to me…

The aspiring singer spent a lot of time hanging out at the Opry, and his famous “What Was I Thinkin” song was even penned about a girl he met there on his early visits.

Unfortunately for Dierks, apparently sneaking around wasn’t one of his best skills, and the habit eventually got him caught by then-Opry general manager, Pete Fisher, who permanently revoked his access.

Of course, that permanent ban turned out to be not-so-permanent after all. Unlike Hank Williams, who passed away before he had the opportunity to have his Opry membership reinstated, Dierks had his ban lifted in 2003 when he performed at the Opry for the first time, and he was later inducted as member in 2005.

But as the “Drunk On A Plane” singer later shared in an Opry interview, he still prefers to experience the Opry with the youthful spirit he once felt when he was still only sneaking in, even though he’s performed on the famous stage many times now:

“We leave the door to our dressing room wide open so people can come in and say hi, and if we’re not getting ready, then I want to be on the stage watching the other bands… just remembering what it feels like to be part of the audience.

I don’t ever want to lose that feeling of being a fan.”

And he probably has a much easier time getting past security these days…

These days Dierks is pretty firmly rooted in the country music scene in Nashville, despite trying to escape – and possibly move – to Colorado in 2020.

During a recent appearance on Whiskey Riff Raff, Dierks had a pretty simple answer for why he decided to return to Music City:

“My wife.”

Happy wife, happy life, am I right?

Bentley wanted to stay in Colorado, but he was outnumbered, and his wife insisted they get back to where they had put down their roots previously:

“She wanted to be back in Nashville. The girls, I think, missed it as well too. There’s some therapy involved there because I really did not want to. The last song I put out on an album going into COVID was ‘How I’m Going Out,’ and it really was like, ‘When it’s my time to step off the merry-go-round, (I will).’ And I was honestly kind of ready to step off.

I just love being in the mountains. I love being on my bike, or my skis, or anything just involving the outdoors. Fishing, hiking, camping… I was just ready for it. But I came back to Tennessee, and I have to say as usual, she’s right. My wife is right about a lot of things – most things.”

@whiskeyriff Happy wife, happy life. @dierksbentley // New episode of Whiskey Riff Raff—out now available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #dierksbentley #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff

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