Dierks Bentley Opens Up About His Childhood and Finds a Fan in Bruce Springsteen

Dierks Bentley is currently on his nationwide Jagermeister Country Tour, and along the way, he has had time to do a few interviews. He recently opened up about both his rough childhood and his admiration for Bruce Springsteen -- who, it turns out, is a fan of Bentley as well.

Bentley's a cactus flower, growing up in the desert southwest of Phoenix, Ariz. He spent the first 14 years of his life there but he tells Press of Atlantic City that "due to troubles in my younger adolescence, my parents decided to send me away to boarding school in New Jersey."

That decision turned out to be a great thing, as the Lawrenceville School was the main reason Bentley fell in love with country music."Growing up in Arizona, I thought country music was Western music," Bentley says. "When I got to Nashville, I realized it's a big Southwestern thing. I grew up where Waylon Jennings got his start, and Marty Robbins."

Bentley's also speaks of his well-known admiration for Springsteen, and says that he hopes one day to share the stage with him. Of the Boss, the country singer admits, "I haven't met him, but several people close to him told me was a fan of 'Up on the Ridge.' That means a lot to me."

Bentley is a busy father of two daughters, and he's also been working on his next album that will be out some time in August. He says that "it's electric country, with a lot of bass and drums." The first single from that album, 'Am I the Only One,' is at radio this week, and Bentley will perform it on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' on Tuesday, March 29.