Dustin Bentall: Grandson of a Preacher Man

I would like to thank Pandora for turning me on to yet another fantastic artist. This time it is Dustin Bentall, a Western Canadian twenty-two year old alt-country/folk/rocker that channels Jeff Tweedy, Jay Farrar, and Neil Young with his own authentic style. I've so much enjoyed getting to know the music of The Felice Brothers over the last week or so, but I am also now just as excited to discover Dustin. I have yet to hear anything by him that I don't consider to be excellent. Here is a short segment of a bio I found on SeeMagazine.com:

Dustin hails from North Vancouver BC and it seems an unlikely place to nurture such a rustic troubadour. It seemed like an unlikely country for Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel or Neil Young to be from… until people took a closer look. Up here you'll find as deep a frontier spirit and hard luck charm as any nation. You'll find a reverence for the tales of everyday life and loss and you'll find a lot of people who have time to woodshed and learn their craft. Spinning songs by Young, the Band, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Tom Petty, and Steve Earle Dustin found the heart of that music and placed it under his own landscapes. "The narcotic cowboy thing definitely comes from my love for cosmic American music. I got into Gram Parsons and never looked back. "GP/ Grievous Angel" was the first time I ever sat down listened to a record and thought, holy shit! music can sound THAT good. And that there are songs out there that are THAT good. I found it so beautiful, honest, true and real. I had always listened to tons of Dylan growing up and loved it. I listened over and over in my room because I understood the music and it made me feel good …but with GP I had to listen to it over and over just to figure out why I knew that this is the kind of music I wanted to create."

Visit Dustin Bentall's Myspace site and listen to the tracks. His quote there sums up his music quite well - "WHICH CAME FIRST, THE BOTTLE OR THE TRUTH?" Dustin also presents a cover of CSNY's "Helplessly Hoping" on his debut album 'Streets With No Lights.'