Over the course of nine albums, Dierks Bentley has solidified himself as a premier singer-songwriter within country music and bluegrass, speaking to how life can age you, but also calling back to the value of experience. The multi-platinum, 14-time Grammy-nominated artist follows-up 2018's The Mountain with his tenth full-length studio album, Gravel & Gold. It's a diverse, 14-track collection about perspective and self-awareness at many levels from the personal to the professional. It's also a testament to the many strains of country music Bentley has mastered and cultivated in his career, from the arena shaker to the barroom weeper to the bluegrass fireballer.

"Gold," the first taster of the album, has a road-trip theme about wisdom gained from experience, while there's a similar appreciation of life's gentle gifts on "Walking Each Other Home." The already-shared "High Note" features Billy Strings on guitar, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Sam Bush on mandolin, Charlie Worsham on guitar, and Bryan Sutton on guitar and banjo. The album also includes "Heartbreak Drinking Tour," which addresses country music's storytelling traditions; "Something Real," which is about the importance of holding on to integrity and self in the modern world; and the spacious, pensive "Still." On "Cowboy Boots," he's joined by Ashley McBryde, and "Beer At My Funeral" injects an element of "Roger Miller humor at 21st century arena scale."

"Selfishly I've always wanted to have my cake and eat it too," Bentley shares. "I'm in the bluegrass space. I'm in the traditional country space. It's always been important to me to have the love and support of this community in Nashville, particularly the older establishment and the Opry – and to know that I'm able to do that but also get out on the road and play the big venues too? It doesn't get any better than that for me."