Dierks Bentley Explains Why New Single 'Riser' Is a 'Once In a Career' Song

Co-written by Nashville aces Travis Meadows and Steve Moakler, “Riser” was sent to Bentley by his executive producer, Arturo Buenahora, amid a swirl of vulnerability: He was mourning the 2012 passing of his father, Leon, and soon he’d learn that his wife, Cassidy, was pregnant with their son, Knox. He didn’t simply relate to lyrics like “The hard times put the shine into the diamond/I won’t let that keep us in the ground” -- he was living them.

Dierks Bentley’s against-all-odds new single "Riser" may be the album’s fifth, but it’s been at the forefront of the singer’s mind since the day he heard it. 

“I was searching for that one song that gives the album context, and when I heard ‘Riser’ for the first time I knew that was the cornerstone of the album,” Bentley tells Billboard. “I knew that’s what the album was going to be called, and I built it around that song.” [READ MORE]