It. was. awesome.
The Country Music Hall of Fame has a an exhibit showcasing his life and career, and as part of the exhibit they have him do an interview and acoustic performance. The is the second one we've seen - they're done really well, and because they are in a small concert hall specifically built for music -- the sound is phenomenal.
We were lucky enough to get meet and greet passes as well as passes to the show. The official photographer took pictures with Dierks, so I don't have those yet, but I did get a few good ones.
The interviewer is Peter Cooper, who is a locally well-known music journalist and musician. He's really good at getting the subject to open up about themselves and he allows them to tell the story in their own words. I always enjoy the interviews that he does.
Above the stage is a large screen and the entire time they were talking there were photos on the screen. Some were from concerts, some were childhood photos (one of which he found slightly embarrassing), and some were album covers. This cover is from 2003. His dog Jake is still alive. He's deaf, and sleeps a lot, but he'll still around.
Before the show, Jim said - If you could ask him one question, what would it be? I said, I think I'd ask him what his favorite guitar was named and how long he's had it. Of course he told me that was two questions. Well, I kind of got my question answered. This guitar was part of the exhibit, and they had it on the stage for him to play during this show. He has had it autographed by many country and bluegrass stars (unfortunately this picture didn't pick up the signatures).
When he started playing, you could see the wear up near the neck, and the hole where his fingers have worn through the wood. It still sounds good, though!
He had a bunch of songwriters join him on stage. All great songwriters and musicians.
He sang What Was I Thinking, I Hold On, Drunk On a Plane, Somewhere on a Beach, Free and Easy, Am I the Only One, Every Mile a Memory, Up on the Ridge, and a new song called Freedom. (I might be forgetting some, it seemed like he played for quite a while).
In this picture, his fingers are actually in that hole in the face of the guitar.
It was an awesome show, and it was really great to meet him.
My favorite Dierks song? I Hold On. For some reason it resonates with me. It was great to hear it live and even though I like a lot of his songs, that remains my favorite.
