Dierks Bentley Performs at 10th Annual CMA Songwriter Series

“Nashville’s all about great songs. We’re just the vessels.”

That’s superstar Dierks Bentley addressing four of Nashville’s finest songwriters before the cameras began to roll for the taping of the 10th anniversary of the CMA Songwriter Series at Marathon Music Works. Part of public television’s “Front and Center” series, the evening sought to bring the Bluebird Café to the small screen, giving those at home the chance to experience the uniquely Nashville phenomenon that is the “writers’ round.”

The guys on stage, dressed almost exclusively in Nashville’s unofficial uniform of denim and chambray, had an easygoing chemistry that made it easy to forget the cameras zooming overhead. A true round, they went down the line performing some of their biggest hits, each taking turns trading licks and singing backup on acoustic, stripped-down versions of many of the songs that have defined country radio for the last decade.

Joined by songwriting heavyweights Jon Randall, Brett James, Jim Beavers and Ross Copperman, Bentley kicked off the show with his debut single “What Was I Thinkin’,” a track he co-wrote with Beavers’ brother Brett in 2003. Fans were also treated to Bentley’s hits “5-1-5-0,” “I Hold On,” and current single “Drunk on a Plane.”

In keeping with the airplane theme, Beavers performed his Gary Allan cut “Watching Airplanes.” “I’ve had a lot of women leave me in a lot of different ways but this was the most profitable,” he laughed. Before Beavers started, Bentley admitted to passing on “Watching Airplanes,” which was a number two hit in 2008.

James shared some personal anecdotes about some of his biggest hits, including “We Went Out Last Night,” which was the result of a spontaneous trip to the islands with Kenny Chesney the day after Christmas. That same trip yielded another Chesney track, “Reality,” which became his 20th number one hit.

Copperman, who co-produced Riser for Bentley, didn’t have a trip to the islands to share but he did play his recent Chesney cut “Pirate Flag,” with a rendition that sounded more like a Tom Petty b-side than country radio fodder.

And in what was one of the night’s most poignant moments, Randall stunned the crowd with a stirring rendition of the tearjerker “Whiskey Lullaby” (cut by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss), which James dubbed the “Amazing Grace” of country music.

Throughout the evening, Bentley revealed a few other songs he’d passed on, which included Beavers’ “Drink a Beer” (cut by Luke Bryan) and CMA/ACM Song of the Year winner “I Drive Your Truck,” co-written by Randall’s wife Jessi Alexander and made famous by Lee Brice.

Alexander, the evening’s only guest star, surprised the crowd when she joined Bentley for “Pretty Girls,” a track the two co-wrote with Randall after looking out across a concert crowd and noticing how many girls favor the oversized adult drinks.

Even with a big crowd and camera crew, watching Bentley and friends was like being a fly on the wall in a writer’s room, giving country fans a rare behind-the-scenes look at how some of their favorite songs came to life. “Front and Center” will air on PBS in October 2014.