So, how was your 2020? is a series in which our favorite animators answer our questionnaire about music, culture and the memorable moments that marked their year. We will be launching these pieces throughout December.
Dierks Bentley and his family were on vacation in Colorado when the pandemic began and schools in Tennessee were remote, so they spent several weeks after that traveling outdoors on mountain trails and cycling. In the midst of that, Bentley was helping to promote the debut album of Hot Country Knights, a fake country group from the 90s in which he introduces himself as Doug Douglason – a connection he never recognized – and also served as a producer. Quarantine unfortunately means that the group was unable to perform live, but Bentley hinted that the group could still hit the road when it is safe to do so. Later, in 2020, Bentley released “Gone”, his first single from a new album to be released. Here, he discusses how he really got on mountain biking, looked to Sam Bush for comfort and kept his hope of economic recovery in a devastating year.
The album I heard the most in 2020 was:
Ben Howard’s Each kingdom
My favorite TV show to broadcast during the quarantine was:
Small fires everywhere and The Queen’s Gambit
The song that will define “2020” for me is:
Ben Howard’s “Old Pine”
“Don’t Blink” by Fancy Hagood
I would define my current state of mind as:
Cautiously optimistic
The viral video I always quarantined was:
“The USA Begins with US,” Hot Country Knights
The old favorite album I came back to comfort this year was:
Sam Bush’s Circles around me
The old favorite movie I came back to comfort this year was:
What about Bob?
A new hobby I acquired in the quarantine was:
Mountain bike… I always rode a bike, but this summer I really got in. Half the Telluride 100 in freezing rain and thick mud, up and down a section of the Colorado Trail and riding a fat bike on snow-covered trails at night were some of the highlights.
The best book I read in quarantine was:
The splendid and the vile by Erik Larson
The Dutch house by Ann Patchett
Hope and glory by Jon Meacham
Something positive that happened to me that nobody noticed was:
I spent more time with my family than in years and a lot of outdoor adventure.
The biggest hero of 2020 was:
Nurses and doctors on the front lines.
A word or phrase I never want to hear again is:
“… But because of Covid, we can’t …”
My greatest hope for 2021 is:
An economic recovery for all people and companies affected by the pandemic. A more united country.