Dierks Attends Jones Museum Gala

Dierks Bentley was one of the country stars who attended the Grand Opening of the George Jones Museum in downtown Nashville last week.  Dierks is a friend of the singer’s widow, Nancy.  Dierks talked about how Jones influenced his music:  “George meant the world to me, he was a friend to so many younger artists. He represents everything that’s great about country music.  He’s the real deal, the good stuff and the hard times too.  It wasn’t always pretty.  There’s a whole group of guys, but of all of them, to me, George Jones sticks out as a personal favorite.”

Was there a song that’s a favorite?  “I love all of his songs, the ones that I love the most might be off the beaten path as far as fan favorites, but there’s a song called “The Door” which always hit me the hardest.  It’s such a sad song, the lonely sound, the closing of the door as she’s really leaving, and there’s actually the sound of a slamming door on the record.  But he’s one of those guys, you can’t imitate that voice, it’s truly the voice of what a broken heart would sound like if it had a voice, and it did: George Jones.  I didn’t actually grow up listening to his records, I’m a little young for that, but when I got to Nashville, I had some friends who loved his music, and through them, I got to listening to his music, and hearing what he was trying to say.”

What does this museum mean for Nashville? “It’s great, this place is unbelievable.  There are lots of places down here, but this is like the most modern, cool, hip place down here on Second Avenue right now.  It’s George Jones, it’s got this great logo, it’s very contemporary, it’s great for Nashville to have a space that’s so contemporary.  It seems very current.  It’s cool to have someone who’s no longer with us that represents everything that’s great about country music, having a spot down here, that probably a lot of kids will come down here because it feels cool.”

Other artists at the George Jones Museum event were Lorrie Morgan, Tracy Lawrence, John Rich, Lee Greenwood, Ricky Skaggs, T.G. Sheppard, and Naomi Judd.  After the grand opening, Dierks ran up the street a few blocks to the arena where he watched his Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Here are some photos from the George Jones Museum:

 

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