Hot Country Knights Are Releasing an Album
Nineties-influenced country group Hot Country Knights may have only released one official single, but the supergroup is already in the process of creating their debut studio album.
The Douglas "Doug" Douglason (Dierks Bentley)-fronted band confirms to Billboard that their debut album will be released later this year. Bentley convinced Douglason to create an album and have him serve as a producer on the record.
"Look, the ’90s are hot right now," Douglason told the outlet. "[Bentley is] pretty much riding our mullets to the finish line on this one. He wanted to get involved with us and produce us and [we] wrote some original songs. It's been a while since I've done that — writing. Just using a pen. I don't read or write much. He wrote most of them, but stole most of my ideas."
This Video of Dierks and His Little Girl Is So Sweet
Douglason and Bentley's relationship goes back a bit. The group opened up for Bentley during his 2019 Burning Man Tour and at his Seven Peaks Music Festival. Since then, the band has steadily gained momentum and even has some famous fans and collaborators, including Thomas Rhett.
As for their debut single, "Pick Her Up" featuring Travis Tritt, if the Hot Country Knights hadn't recorded the song, Bentley would have cut it for himself. He co-wrote it alongside Brett and Jim Beavers while at his festival in Colorado.
Bentley says Hot Country Knights has become his main focus — not just a side project — after the official signing of the band to Universal Music Nashville and release of their first single.
"I'm not really in a rush to get off this. It's really fun and I think it's really needed in country music right now," he admits. "[The country genre], myself included, can take themselves way too seriously. This is a good reminder of why I got into country music, which is great songs, great personalities, great people, characters, colors and energy. It’s a nice way for me to reset my next project, just by being around these guys."
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