Dierks Bentley was the musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, giving the television debut performance of his heartbroken latest single “Gone.”
Bentley released “Gone,” his new music under his own name since 2018’s full-length album The Mountain, in October. Written by Nicolle Galyon, Ben Johnson, and Niko Moon, the song explores an all-consuming heartbreak that’s left its narrator unable to do anything besides “sitting on the couch watching TV all day long.” The solemn mood is driven home by David Garcia’s production, which features a melancholy piano melody and wistful Dobro licks.
On The Tonight Show, Bentley is joined by his full band on a large floor space outlined by blue lights. Strumming his acoustic guitar, he leads the group through a straightforward rendition of the song, complete with the percussion-free breaks between each chorus and verse that will no doubt get cheers out of live audiences at some point in the future.
“Gone” isn’t Bentley’s first music of 2020, however. In the early part of the pandemic, the faux Nineties country band Hot Country Knights, in which he plays lead singer Doug Douglason (and also served as producer under his own name) put out its debut record The K Is Silent. That collection album featured sincere-but-funny homages to the heyday of Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, with guests including Travis Tritt and Terri Clark.
From Rolling Stone US
