Dierks Bentley Responds to Friendly Competition of Artist Bars in Nashville

Bentley opened up his Whiskey Row location just a few months ago, with Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean following the trend with their own establishments popping up downtown.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Dierks Bentley Responds to Friendly Competition of Artist Bars in Nashville
Dierks Bentley; Photo by Andrew Wendowski

It seems like every time a country star comes back to Nashville for a bit, they get the urge to open up some sort of bar or honkytonk right in the midst of the action downtown. Dierks Bentley followed the trend, and created a Music City installment of his Whiskey Row chain to claim his own territory in his adopted home.

With the tourism through the roof and visitors flocking to the streets of Nashville every weekend of the year, Bentley capitalized with his stellar location in the traffic-heavy borough. Looking upon his fellow peers following suit, including Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean, Bentley seemed quite optimistic about the business competition coming his way.

“I mean, every third person I meet on a meet and greet on the road is either just come from Nashville or is just coming to Nashville and if people think Nashville is crowded right now, they should like, just tune into what’s coming in five years. It’s going to be beyond anything you can possibly imagine and there’s room for every bar. I mean, Kid Rock’s got a place opening up, Kid Rock’s Kick Ass Country Bar and Rock and Roll Steakhouse, right next to Blake’s place and there’s a lot of places opening up,” Bentley said to Sounds Like Nashville and other media backstage at the 2018 CMA Music Festival.

#nashville tonight we make it official

A post shared by Dierks Bentley (@dierksbentley) on

The stereotypes that Nashville was originally known for are slowly fading away, making people like Bentley excited about how far the city has come. The developments may take some time, but the “Woman, Amen” singer is ready for change with open arms.

“It’s unlike any other city out there, I mean, I remember people talking years ago I was living here and I was like ‘why?’ I mean, it’s a great city, but why would you come here? But now, they do some things, fans do some things that I think a lot of us took for granted or just didn’t realize what a special city it is,” Bentley gushed about Nashville’s growth.

Fans can visit Bentley’s Whiskey Row location on Broadway in downtown Nashville.