Up & Coming New Nashville- Ridley Bent (With Exclusive Interview)

On this week’s That Nashville Sound Up & Coming New Nashville artist, we head up north and feature one of Canada’s most up and coming new country stars, Ridley Bent.

On his first release on Open Road Recordings, Buckles and Boots, Ridley Bent serves up tall tales, sweet rhymes, and love songs, with a dash of mayhem and murder on the side. Populated by a cast of modern day desperadoes, lovesick drifters, and small town heroes, Buckles and Boots, is full to the brim with stories you just can't take your ears off.

Whether it's a high school drug sting gone bad, or an aging road racer taking one last shot at glory prompted `a whiff of the glory days comin' from the back seat' Ridley's characters don't compromise. They get what they deserve and take what they can get, straight up, with a shot of whiskey on the side. No matter how wild his characters get, though, Ridley Bent's own life and experiences shine through. "When I first started writing I was singing from my heart, and those songs are always harder to sing for people. So I kinda went completely the other direction and wrote from character's points of view. But no matter what, there's always going to be things that are you."

Shortly after relocating to Whistler, BC in the late 90's, the Halifax born, Alberta bred singer/songwriter ditched his dream of being a pro-skier, picked up a the guitar and taught himself to play. It wasn't until he moved to Vancouver and took a job as a security guard that he really began developing his unique lyrical style. With nothing but his guitar and a pile of books for company, he started spinning his own tales to kill time. Known for spinning wild yarns against a unique blend of roots and urban grooves, Ridley's rekindled a love for an old flame on Buckles and Boots. Born out of early exposure to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash - courtesy of his father, the world's greatest country music lover - there's always been a strong underpinning of alt. Folk and Country to his music. "But with this record," he says, "I really wanted to be clear where it was going."

Where it went was straight up country - no exceptions, and no apologies...

More and more, people can't help but notice; Ridley was nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the 2006 Western Canadian Music Awards. In 2008 he received three Canadian Country Music Award nominations, nine British Columbia Country Music Award nominations and was the winner of the Ray Mcauley Horizon Award as well as the Edmonton Folk Festival's Galaxie Rising Star Award. Ridley has also toured with Corb Lund, Doc Walker, and hit major Canadian Folk Fests like Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Hillside.

Check out his amazing and beautiful video for “Arlington”- his most recent release and then read our brief interview below with this aspiring new artist.



That Nashville Sound- What brought you into country music?

Ridley Bent- Once I started writing country songs I felt I had a knack for it. The lyric and the story has a stronger presence in country songs than it does in other genres and writing lyrics is where I believe my strength as an artist lies. I love rocking live with a tight country band more than anything and the vision I had when recording the album "Buckles and Boots" was a large band that, not only, was entertaining to listen to on a CD, but also to dance to live. In my opinion the players on this record are second to none and I especially like the instrumental solos where I get to step back from the mic and listen to these guys rip tasty licks. Steel guitar, fiddle, piano, lead guitar ... I love 'em all. I love country music and I feel lucky to be a part of the Canadian Country Music Scene.

TNS- Who are some of your influencers in your music?

RB- Lyle Lovett and his large band, Gram Parsons, Dwight Yoakam, and Little Feat are at the top of a long list of influences. In the lyrical arena authors like Cormac McCarthy, John Steinbeck, and Louis L'amour are as influential as some of my favorite songwriters Corb Lund, Jeff Tweedy, and Brad Paisley. In my dreams I sing like George Jones and play like Pete Anderson.

TNS- What are some of the differences between the Canadian countryscene and that of the US?

RB- The American scene is the big ticket. You make it big in the US country scene and the world is your prairie oyster. There are a lot of great people in the Canadian scene, many great acts and lots of support but my dream of dreams is a #1 US Hit and a World tour to support it.

TNS- The graphics for Arlington are spectacular, what was the idea behind this concept music video?

RB- Christopher Mills was the director behind this project and he is just plain brilliant. He told me the graphics were inspired by the "Group of Seven" paintings in the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) just across the street from his house in Toronto. It was his idea to use animation and a green screen to visually capture the idea behind the song which is life on the road, far away love, and beautiful reunion.

TNS- What's next for Ridley Bent?

RB- I have a summer of festivals to play and a new record to make and I'm looking forward to both. I'm about to escape a blizzard in Winnipeg and play a show with Doc Walker for Juno Week-end in Vancouver. Should be a blast!