Stagecoach 2017: Dierks Bentley recalls when ‘Taylor Swift opened for me’
Country singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley hangs out at the Whiskey Bar he takes on tour with him before his headlining set Friday at the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio.
Sitting in his trailer backstage at Stagecoach on Friday a few hours before stepping onto the Mane Stage as the first of the festival’s three weekend headliners, Dierks Bentley recalled his initial appearance at what is now the world’s biggest country music festival.
What immediately sprang to mind wasn’t his own performance, but that of the fledgling star who preceded him in the blistering early-afternoon opening act.
“Taylor Swift opened for me,” he said with a tone of amazement. “That’s how long ago that was. It was her first time on the road, but she was just so poised and put on a really great show. I knew she was going on to great things.”
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Headliner Kenny Chesney performs on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Headliner Kenny Chesney performs on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Headliner Kenny Chesney greets fans as guitarist Kenny Greenberg, second from left, and guitarist Jon Conley, right, perform.
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Kenny Chesney
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Guitarist Kenny Greenberg performs with headliner Kenny Chesney.
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Two men sleep on hay bales in the empty Mustang Stage as Stagecoach draws to an end on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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Kendra Ullman and Jordan Bohine embrace at dusk as Travis Tritt plays a love song on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer at dusk as Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer as they listen to Tyler Farr.
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Tyler Farr
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Fans cheer as Tyler Farr performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans cheer as Tyler Farr performs at sunset on the Mane Stage.
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Tyler Farr, left, and drummer Mark Poiesz perform on the Mane Stage.
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Christopher Garmer poses with his son wearing a John Deere hat, Sean Garmer, 2, of Lakeside, on a John Deere 520 vintage tractor, which is one of 18 on display.
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Los Lobos performs on the Palomino Stage on the final day of Stagecoach.
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Cowboy Junkies lead singer vocalist Margo Timmins performs on the Mustang Stage.
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A view from the La Grande XL ferris wheel of the RV resort.
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Rusty Wink of Leucadia, left, and Kyle Evans of Long Beach sport country-western outfits while riding a two-person bicycle in the RV Resort on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., on April 29, 2017.
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Partiers hang out in a portable hot tub in the RV Resort on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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Kiefer Sutherland performs on the Palomino Stage on the third day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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The Hillbenders present the Who’s “Tommyy: A Bluegrass Opry” on the Mustang Stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Luke Combs performs on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Dancers from the Cal Poly Country Line Dancers Club and Cal Poly Square Dancers perform at the HonkyTonk at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Wynonna & the Big Noise performs on the Palomino Stage at Stagecoach.
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Qunicy Jones and Lauren Anderson of Los Angeles dance while the Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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The Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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Jordan Horrillo and Kait Gruber of Sunnyvale dance while the Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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The crowd cheers as Wynonna & the Big Noise performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer Saturday’s headlining act, Shania Twain, on the Mane Stage on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio.
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Saturday headliner Shania Twain performs on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer Shania Twain, performing on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Shania Twain, performs on the Mane Stage.
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Shania Twain on the Mane Stage.
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Country legend Willie Nelson tips his hat to the crowd as he takes the Palomino Stage on his 84th birthday, which he spent playing at Stagecoach.
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Willie Nelson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Neil Young makes a surprise appearance as he plays harmonica with Mickey Raphael, second from left, during Willie Nelson’s finale. At left is Jamey Johnson, from right are Margo Price and John Doe.
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Neil Young makes a surprise appearance as he plays harmonica with Mickey Raphael in an exchange, third from left, during Willie Nelson’s finale. From left are Lucas Nelson and Jamey Johnson; from right are Margo Price and John Doe.
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Stagecoach performers join Willie Nelson’s finale on his 84th birthday.
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Willie Nelson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Margo Price performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Robert Ellis performs on the Mustang Stage on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Maren Morris performs on the Mane Stage.
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Tommy James and the Shondells perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Tommy James and the Shondells at Stagecoach.
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Fans sing along to Tommy James and the Shondells.
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Nikki Lane performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Nikki Lane performs on the Mustang Stage.
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“Cowboy” Eddie Long plays the steel guitar during Jamey Johnson’s performance on the Palomino Stage.
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Jamey Johnson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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A fan watches Jamey Johnson’s performance from another’s shoulders at the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer as Willie Nelson and Family perform during the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser takes the Mane Stage on the first day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach.
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The bassist of the Randy Houser band, Tripper Ryder, greets fans at dusk on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs at dusk on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs at dusk on the first day at Stagecoach.
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Drummer Kevin Murphy performs with Randy Houser at Stagecoach.
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38 Special vocalist and guitarist Don Barnes, left, and guitarist Danny Chauncey perform on the Palomino Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as 38 Special performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Randy Houser performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans sing along as Dierks Bentley performs on the Mane Stage.
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Friday’s headlining performer, Dierks Bentley, performs “Different for Girls” featuring Elle King on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley sings “Different for Girls” with Elle King on the Mane Stage.
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Dierks Bentley encourages the crowd to sing along during his performance at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley, center, performs on the first day of Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley lets the audience in on his Stagecoach performance.
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Dierks Bentley performs on the Mane Stage.
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Cole Swindell encouarges the crowd during his performance on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach 2017.
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Cole Swindell performs on the Mane Stage.
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The Blasters guitarist Keith Wyatt, left, and vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin perform on the Palomino Stage.
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The Blasters vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer in the front row as Dylan Scott performs during Day One at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley flips a bottle at his bar while hanging out in his trailer before headlining Friday night at Stagecoach.
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The Zombies perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Maddie Marlow of Maddie & Tae performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans cheer as the Zombies perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Son Volt members, from left, Jay Farrar (vocal, guitar, harmonica), Chris Frame (guitar), Mark Spencer (keyboard, steel guitar) and Andrew Duplantis (bass, backing vocal) perform on the Mustang Stage.
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Bob and Bernadette Kennedy, of Valley Center, dance as Son Volt performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Jerry Lee Lewis, 81, performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Jerry Lee Lewis, 81, performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Rhiannon Giddens performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Jeff Riback of San Diego listens to the music while kicking back in a lawn chair near the Mane Stage.
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Elle King performs on the Palomino Stage on Friday.
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Dylan Scott performs on the Mane Stage on Friday.
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The three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, on April 28, 2017, as fans run to stake out spots on the lawn.
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A woman falls as crowds rush past the gates to secure the best seats as the first day of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins. She recovered quickly and headed to find a good seat.
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Crowds rush past the gates to secure the best seats as the first of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio on April 28, 2017.
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Dancers crowd the Go Country 105 stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Allison Batteate, left, and Sharon Castello, both of Livermore, crochet as they camp lakeside in a 1960 Corvette trailer at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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The sun sets behind the mountains as a group of friends play a drinking game outside their trailer in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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The sun sets behind the mountains as a camper climbs onto his RV roof for a better view in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Caitlyn Kelley, left, and Ashlee Herr, both of Huntington Beach, pose with a cowboy silhouette in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Ian Ray of Anaheim Hills and Allison Kingsley of Newport Beach dance on a makeshift dance floor made of plywood in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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A couple parade around the RV Resort at sunset at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Trevor Johnson of San Diego throws a lasso around beer boxes made into the shape of a bull atop a pickup in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Travis Miller of Pedicab people movers of Orlando, Fla., gives Donelle Nubia of Long Beach a ride to her RV with her belongings.
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Line dancers crowd the Go Country 105 stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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A swarm of bees focus on a lemonade stand on the first day of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival.
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Nine years later, the Arizona-bred singer and songwriter has steadily worked his way up the Stagecoach lineup, like others before him such as Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton and Eric Church, all of whom had to look hard to find their own names in tiny type on the posters for their first Stagecoach appearances.
“Stagecoach is a good barometer for measuring my career,” Bentley said. “It’s a chance to check back in on where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished, what we’re looking forward to since the last time we were here.”
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A few hours later, he opened his set with the title track from his 2010 album “Up On the Ridge,” a rootsy affair that helped push Bentley’s career to a new level and demonstrated that “the country fans are really loyal, and they showed they were willing to go with me” on a creative tangent that sidestepped the usual driving country-rock hits he’d had for a foray into acoustic bluegrass-rooted songs.
Dierks Bentley performs with Elle King on his hit “Different for Girls” Friday at the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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His Stagecoach performance, which included duets with Elle King and Jon Pardi, was the start of a round of summer concerts for Bentley, including several other festivals. But even with the proliferation of mega-shows across the country, Bentley said Stagecoach remains special.
“I have a picture somebody gave me from that first show, of me dancing with some girl on stage,” he said. “The sun was still pretty high in the sky, and you see the trees and the mountains in the background. We’ve been doing this for a long time, but there still nothing like Stagecoach.”
Randy Lewis covered pop music for the Los Angeles Times from 1981 to 2020, working in that time as a reporter, music critic and editor for the Calendar section. He has interviewed most of the members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s also written first-person accounts of performing the music of Shostakovich and Prokofiev on clarinet and singing Mozart’s Requiem with world-class professionals. In addition, he enjoys belting out “Wooly Bully” in dive bars with his band, the Rounders.
