Jordan Davis has spent part of this year on Dierks Bentley’s Gravel & Gold Tour, allowing Davis to not only open for one of his biggest musical heroes, but get to spend time with him as well. The tour has only solidified what Davis already knew: that Bentley was, and always would be, one of his favorite artists, and now closest friends.
“Dierks hates when I say this, but ‘What Was I Thinkin” was released in 2004. I was a junior in high school, going into my junior year of high school,” Davis shared with Everything Nash and other outlets at a recent media event. “Again, he hates when I say that. But that was my first introduction to Dierks Bentley, and I’ve truly been a fan since then. Every record he puts out, I look forward to. And this tour, there’s been one show, and that’s because he was with his family, that he has not stood side-stage, and watched every single second of my show.”
By his own admission, Davis still can’t believe that the artist he grew up idolizing has become his friend, and believed in his talent enough to invite him to serve as his opening act on the road.
“This used to be a dream,” the “Next Thing You Know” singer says. “You get to move to Nashville, you get to have songs. You get to do this for a living, and you get to go out and play shows. You get to show up every day and call a writing session, writing songs, going to work. For even this 34-year-old Jordan Davis, to look over and watch Dierks Bentley watching every single second of my show, it kind of choked me up, because I love the guy to death. He’s been so gracious to me, my band and my crew.
“But to go back … It’s another one of those 100 times you wish you could go back and say, ‘Hey man, in 2023, you’re gonna tour with this guy,'” he continues. “‘You’re gonna be able to call him a friend. You’re gonna form a relationship with him. And he’s gonna have you out on tour, and he’s not gonna miss a show.’ That’s the stuff that will stick with you forever.”
Bentley is by now a seasoned pilot, who flies to and from his shows to spend more time with his family. But those flying skills came in handy for Daivs, when he almost missed the first night of the Gravel & Gold Tour, due to travel issues.
“First show of the tour, I’m sitting on an Air Canada flight,” Davis recalls. “We’re playing Toronto, sitting on an Air Canada flight. It’s an hour delayed. Everybody knows Air Canada is terrible. So I was like, ‘This flight’s gonna get canceled. I’m gonna miss the first day of the Dierks tour.’ And I get a message from my manager that says, ‘Hey, get off the plane. Dierks is gonna reroute and come pick us up.’ And, true story, he swoops in and picks us up. Caked on sunscreen, hops out in his Dierks gear: flip-flops, shorts. I was like, ‘What’s up, dude. Thanks for picking me up.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah man, hop in.’
“We take off, fly to Canada, going down to land. Something’s on the runway,” he adds. “We pull back up — Dierks is flying the airplane, not like co-piloting. He is flying the airplane. Goes down, flies back up, circles back around, comes and lands again. One of the smoothest landings I’ve ever had.”
Bentley’s Gravel & Gold Tour wraps up at the end of this month. Davis will headline his own Damn Good Time Tour this fall, and join Luke Combs as the opening act for Combs’ Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour in 2024. Find all of Davis’ music and upcoming shows at JordanDavisOfficial.com.