The short answer: the gift for Dierks Bentley fans that tends to survive the January cull is my Dierks Bentley discography tube map art print, a Giclée that draws all ten studio albums from the 2003 debut to Gravel & Gold as stations, and every one of the 144 credited musicians as a named tube line running between them. I researched and drew it myself in East Sussex, album by album, from the credits rather than from a press release. It costs from £42 in A2 or A1, and it was commissioned by CountryLine Radio as official tour merchandise for Country to Country 2025.
Bryan Sutton plays on nine albums out of ten, and misses only one
When I plotted the credits out, one line ran almost the full width of the sheet. Bryan Sutton is on the 2003 debut, on Modern Day Drifter, Long Trip Alone, Feel That Fire, Up on the Ridge, Home, Riser, Black and Gravel & Gold. That is nine of the ten stations, and the only album he does not call at is The Mountain in 2018.
What makes his line interesting to draw is that the instrument keeps moving. He is credited with banjo, bouzouki, gut string guitar and mandolin on Feel That Fire, resonator guitar on Up on the Ridge, and something Home lists as a guitjo. A fan who has followed Bentley since the honky-tonk years will spot that straight away, which is exactly the sort of detail I want a present to reward.
Brett Beavers only gets a line because he picked up a banjo
My rule across every map I make is simple and I apply it without exception: producers do not get a tube line unless they are also credited playing something. It keeps the map honest, and it means the lines you see are people who were in the room making a sound, not people signing off on a mix.
Brett Beavers produced a run of these records, but that is not why he is on the map. He is on it because he is credited with banjo on Feel That Fire and with acoustic guitar and programming on Home. Ross Copperman clears the same bar later on, credited with guitars, keyboards, percussion and programming across Riser, Black, The Mountain and Gravel & Gold.
The Punch Brothers arrive as five lines calling at exactly the same three tracks
Up on the Ridge in 2010 is the strangest station on the map, and the most fun to draw. Bentley made a bluegrass record, and the credits fill up with players who do not appear anywhere else in his catalogue: Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Scott Vestal, Rob Ickes, Tim O'Brien, Larry Atamanuik.
The detail I keep pointing people towards is the Punch Brothers. Chris Thile on mandolin, Chris Eldridge on acoustic guitar, Gabe Witcher on fiddle, Noam Pikelny on banjo and Paul Kowert on bass are each credited on tracks 3, 4 and 9. Five separate lines, identical stops, arriving and leaving together. On the print they read as a single thick band cutting through the middle of the album, which is what a band actually looks like when you draw it properly.
Chris Stapleton is on three of these albums before Traveller
Some credits only look remarkable in hindsight, and this is my favourite one on the sheet. Chris Stapleton is credited on background vocals on Up on the Ridge in 2010, again on Home in 2012, and again on Riser in 2014 for "Hurt Somebody". His own breakthrough record did not arrive until 2015.
Alison Krauss does something similar in reverse. She sings on Modern Day Drifter in 2005, then vanishes from the credits for five years, then comes back for Up on the Ridge. A gap and a return like that is invisible in a streaming app and obvious on a map.
| Guest | Album | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Mike McCready | Feel That Fire (2009) | Electric guitar, opening track |
| Kacey Musgraves | Riser (2014) | Background vocals, "Bourbon in Kentucky" |
| Elle King | Black (2016) | Duet vocals, "Different for Girls" |
| Trombone Shorty | Black (2016) | Trombone, "Mardi Gras" |
| Brandi Carlile | The Mountain (2018) | Duet vocals |
| Billy Strings | Gravel & Gold (2023) | Acoustic guitar |
Both Osborne brothers turn up on the same opening track
The Mountain in 2018 opens with a credit I had to draw as two lines converging on one station and stopping. T. J. Osborne is credited with lead vocals on track 1 and John Osborne with electric guitar on the same track, and neither appears again anywhere on the map.
Feel That Fire has the opposite problem. Track 2 pulls in a crowd of gang vocalists, including Caleb, Emily and Liz Beavers alongside Brett, so a family shows up in the credits of a country record and each of them earns a short branch line. Home does something similar with Evie Bentley listed as a background vocalist, which is the kind of credit a discography app will never surface.
What makes this the best gift for Dierks Bentley fans?
It answers a question the person receiving it has probably never been able to answer: who actually played on these records. Every line is named, so they can trace one player across twenty years of Nashville sessions in about a minute, then keep finding things for months.
For a casual fan who came in through the singles, A2 framed sits well above a desk or in a hallway. For someone who owns the vinyl and knows what a resonator guitar is, A1 is the one, because the branch lines around Up on the Ridge stay readable at that size. Every print is a Giclée on 230gsm textured matte fine art paper, archival and acid-free, supplied unframed or in a black wooden frame.
| Size | UK | US / CAN / AUS | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | 594 x 420 mm | 24 x 18 in | £42 |
| A1 | 841 x 594 mm | 36 x 24 in | See product page |
Dierks Bentley Discography Tube Map Art Print
Ten studio albums as stations, 144 credited musicians as lines. Giclée on 230gsm archival matte paper, A2 or A1, unframed or black wooden frame. From £42.
"Brilliant idea... really like what you've done, Mike." Billy Bragg
"It is truly amazing." Bruce Springsteen Archives, Monmouth University
Feedback on my discography maps generally, not on this print specifically.
Related Music Maps
If you are buying for someone whose shelves lean modern Nashville, the Cody Johnson Discography Map Art Print is the closest companion piece, built the same way from the same kind of session research. The Lainey Wilson Discography Map Art Print covers the other end of the current Nashville run. The full Country Music collection and the wider Gifts for Music Fans collection sit alongside it.
Frequently asked questions
How many albums are on the Dierks Bentley map?
Ten studio albums, running chronologically from the 2003 debut through Modern Day Drifter, Long Trip Alone, Feel That Fire, Up on the Ridge, Home, Riser, Black and The Mountain to Gravel & Gold in 2023.
Who is the longest-serving musician on the map?
Bryan Sutton, credited on nine of the ten albums on acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, bouzouki and resonator guitar. The Mountain is the only station his line does not call at.
Which album brings in the most guest players?
Up on the Ridge in 2010. The bluegrass session players arrive in numbers, including the five Punch Brothers, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Tim O'Brien, Scott Vestal and Rob Ickes, most of whom appear nowhere else in the catalogue.
Do producers get a line on the map?
Only if they are also credited playing an instrument. Brett Beavers and Ross Copperman both qualify because they are credited on banjo, guitars, keyboards and programming, not because they produced.
Has Dierks Bentley seen the map?
Yes. CountryLine Radio commissioned it as official tour merchandise for Country to Country 2025, and he was photographed with a copy backstage in London.
What if I am not sure which size to choose?
A gift card lets them pick the size and frame themselves, which is the safe route if you cannot ask first.
Ten albums, 144 credited musicians, one sheet of paper. Researched and drawn by me, printed as a Giclée, from £42.
Buy the Dierks Bentley Discography Map Art Print
Not sure of the size? Send an art print gift card instead.
