GRAMMY nominated, and hit making country song singer Dierks Bentley is set to headline the 2011 JAGERMEISTER COUNTRY TOUR starting 3/17. The 30 stop tour runs through mid-May and will feature special guest Columbia Nashville road warrior Josh Thompson and brand new A&M/Octone duo Miss Willie Brown. Each concert will also feature a local Jagermeister sponsored country act.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110120/NY33243 )

Pre-sale tickets are available to fan club members through www.dierks.com, while the general public will be able to purchase tickets beginning Jan. 21 and Jan. 28 through Ticketmaster. The remaining cities will go on sale over the coming weeks.

“It’s a good thing we’ve got a video crew on the road with us capturing everything that goes down,” laughed Bentley. “Putting my band, Josh Thompson, the Miss Willie Brown girls and a few thousand fans in a Jagermeister sponsored room with loud country music sounds like a pretty solid recipe for a great night!”

Dierks Bentley Photo:flickr:burningkarma

“For the brand’s 20th music tour, Jagermeister is bringing top country star Dierks Bentley to the stage to show our dedication and loyalty to country music,” says Bill Henderson, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc. “In addition to this great line-up, Jagermeister is sponsoring over 25 country music acts to open the shows and is looking for more.”

2011 Jagermeister Country Tour Dates:
3/17
Wallingford, CT *
3/18
Sayreville, NJ **
3/19
Atlantic City, NJ**
3/20
Pittsburgh PA **
3/24
Lewiston, ME **
3/25
Poughkeepsie, NY
3/26
Reading, PA**
3/27
Westbury, NY **
4/1
Los Angeles, CA **
4/2
Las Vegas, NV **
4/6
Houston, TX**
4/7
Mescalero, NM **
4/13
Asheville, NC
4/14
North Myrtle Beach, SC **
4/15
Melbourne, FL
4/16
Boca Raton, FL
4/21
Mankato, MN
4/22
Sioux Falls, SD
4/23
Clear Lake, IA
4/27
Salina, KS
4/28
Bloomington, IL
4/29
Saint Charles, MO
5/5
Akron, OH
5/6
Detroit, MI
5/7
Indianapolis, IN
5/11
Augusta, GA
5/12
Charleston, SC
5/13
Norfolk, VA
* Tickets On Sale Jan. 21
** Tickets On Sale Jan. 28

Bentley is currently in Nashville working on material for his next album. Fans can expect the first single this spring and will be able to get glimpses of the recording process along the way through dierks.com. The new album will follow in the footsteps of Bentley’s artistically daring and critically acclaimed

UP ON THE RIDGE, which recently received three GRAMMY nominations. The Phoenix-native has won countless awards, headlined arena tours, sold over five million albums, and celebrated seven No. one hits (“What Was I Thinkin,” “Come A Little Closer,” “Settle For A Slowdown,” “Every Mile A Memory,” “Free and Easy (Down The Road I Go),” “Feel That Fire,” “Sideways”) since being signed to Capitol Records Nashville.

Columbia Nashville recording artist Josh Thompson stormed onto the country music scene with his debut album WAY OUT HERE – debuting in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart and earning praise from countless critics, including NPR’s Fresh Air, Billboard and People. Thompson wrote or co-wrote all 10 tracks on the album including his current single, “Won’t Be Lonely Long,” which follows previous hits “Way Out Here” and “Beer On The Table.” The blue-collar road warrior played over 240 shows last year ranging from headlining club dates to sold-out arenas with Brad Paisley.

A&M/Octone’s first country release is the vibrant new female duo Miss Willie Brown, comprised of Amanda Watkins from West Virginia and Texas native Kasey Buckley. The two girls met in California waiting tables, instantly bonded over a deep love of country music and have been writing and singing together ever since. Now living in Nashville, the duo is recording their debut album with award winning producer Keith Stegall (Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson) and will release the lead single in the coming months. Miss Willie Brown has been busy honing their live performance chops opening shows for artists including Dwight Yoakam and Billy Currington. They are also the only unsigned band to ever perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Josh Thompson is not a hat act… but kinda sounds like he could be.   He’s the real deal and he writes too.  In Fact, he

New music now out...

had a hand in writing every track) on his new CD “Way Out Here” just released this week on Columbia/Sony Records Nashville.  The new CD - download on iTunes.-is a nice break from the pop country that’s starting to be back in vogue with the Nashville Country labels.

Thompson is from Wisconsin and his debut album, out this week, is fun to hear.  I don’t know of many country stars that grew out of Wisconsin but I do know first hand there’s a lot of farmland to grow some country ”way out there”.    Maybe that’s why his traditional – but rocking – country sound comes across as fresh and not a remake of someone else’s stuff.    In fact there’s a lot of “country boy” themes in his new collection of songs… but Thompson’s found new ways to express it.    Not “redneck” or “hillbilly” but he sings about being from “Way Out Here.”

His  ”You Ain’t seen Country Yet” is worth a good laugh with a line about making love to the sounds of a Haggard casette (if you haven’t…”you ain’t SEEN country yet”).   Add in his rapid fire toungue twisting twang on radio hit “Beer On The Table” and you got a fun mix that defines what Thompson does.   As a bonus there’s a serious side painted in “Sinner”  that will resonate with the bible belt country fans too.

Thompson is currently playing to packed clubs with Eric Church on the Jagermeister Tour.

Listen for the nod to the legends with “Blame It On Waylon” and an ”old” Kenny Chesney flavor on the well-written “Back Around” that sounds like it could be a current radio hit anywhere in the country.

Overall Grade: A  surprise collection that proves traditional leaning country can still sound young and fresh.

Download:   Beer On The Table  although it may disappear from the radio top twenty soon it’s a song that should have hit.

Delete: None – this is one to listen to cover to cover.

We Hear He Puts The Beer On The Table

From Sony Nashville:

Josh Thompson fans anxiously awaiting the February 23^rd release of Way Out Here can now pre-order their copy of forthcoming debut album on Thompson’s official website.

Fans who pre-order the album on Thompson’s official website will also receive an autographed booklet. Visitors to the site can also view videos and upload photos, follow Josh on Twitter, check on upcoming events, interact in forums, and compete for the top score on the “Whack-A-Beer” online game. Fans also have the ability to stream and purchase all four tracks already available on Thompson’s self-titled digital EP.

While critics have already pegged Thompson as the artist to watch in the New Year, country music fans have also voted Josh Thompson as the ”artist they are most excited about for 2010,” in a recent poll taken on gactv.com.   Thompson won the fan voted poll with a staggering 56% of the votes!  To see the full gactv.com poll results, click here. With Way Out Here available in stores on February 23^rd, his debut single, “Beer on the Table,” climbing up the airwaves and landing at MediaBase’s #18 spot this week, and his 32-date Jagermeister Country Tour kicking off next month, Thompson has a lot forward to in the upcoming year.

For 24/7 info on Josh Thompson, be sure to check out www.joshthompsonofficial.com.