Dierks Bentley
is one of country's hottest performers -- and it's not just those unruly
curls or his disarming smile. His set lists blend hard-rockin', good-timin' songs and melancholy ballads tinged with bluegrass.
The upcoming
CMT Unplugged: Dierks Bentley Presented by State Farm is loaded with both.
Unplugged gave the singer-songwriter
a chance to strip down his hits in an intimate setting -- and an excuse to branch out. No stranger to covering a pop song
and making it his own (he gave the bluegrass treatment to U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)"), this time Bentley took on pop
music's current darling,
Adele. His performance of her popular hit, "Set Fire
to the Rain," is exactly as it should be. His signature vocals capture the remorseful tone of the song while his band (with
only guitars, Dobro, fiddle and snare drum) provide the perfect backdrop. Some covers come across like a cheap gimmick, but
he shows how a great song in the hands of a great artist becomes a classic.
Watch
Dierks Bentley's cover of "Set Fire to the Rain" now and look for his full
Unplugged performance on Tuesday (May
29) at 1 p.m. CT.
