My name is Michael Tinor. I was asked to write an article about one of the coolest things that ever happened to me months ago, but I have been very hesitant for some reason. I’m going to be giving a little back-story before I get into the events of that day.
I never used to like country music. I would never let anyone at work listen to it if I was around, I wouldn’t allow it in my car, and I definitely wouldn’t have ever gone to a country concert. My best friend at the time hated 2 of these 3 things. She loved country music and would always try to play it in my car. One day I let her play some of her favorites and it made me realize, this isn’t as bad as I made it out to be. Her favorite was Kip Moore, so we started listening to him a lot. One day she told me she wanted to see him in concert, so I decided to look on Ticketmaster. Low and behold, he was touring with Dierks Bentley and would be at Blossom Music Center two weeks later (June 6, 2015). There were two tickets in the second row, so I hurried up and purchased those tickets. Now, me being me, I told her I was going to find a way to get her to meet Kip at this show and told her I was going to find a way every day up until this show. That morning, she called me telling me to sign up on Twitter because he was giving away meet and greets for that night. I did just that, and I won.
We got to the concert 5 minutes before the meet and greet was going to happen. When I got to him, he asked me if I was a big Dierks fan. Honestly, I still had no idea who Dierks was at this moment and I told him that. I told him the only reason we were there was because of him. Now we got done with the meet and greet and got to our seats. I was still hesitant, thinking I wasn’t going to enjoy this show. We saw Canaan Smith and Maddie & Tae before Kip came out. I was still undecided. Kip came out and since I knew his music, I got into the show and really enjoyed it. Next was Dierks. He came out and absolutely blew me away. The way he controlled the crowd, the way he commanded the stage, and the overall show (the lights and the music) was awesome. I knew after that night I was hooked and I would go see Dierks every chance I got.
Fast forward a few years, I had seen Dierks at least once every year anytime he was somewhat close to me. In May 2021, I decided to travel to Charlotte to see him perform at Coyote Joes. That decision was very easy for me because I was already going there to see back to back nights of HARDY that weekend, so I only had to leave one day earlier. That would be a story for another time. After seeing Dierks in all the big settings (amphitheaters and at The Country Fest), seeing him in a smaller bar setting was honestly the best I had ever seen him perform. That was the 8th time I had ever seen him perform, and at that point, nothing could top it. Two months later, I got to see him again at The Country Fest 2 at Clays Park. As great as he was, it still didn’t top Charlotte.
There was one thing I kept noticing at all these shows though. He would always bring someone up on stage to shotgun a beer with him. I had tried to be that person for the last few times I had seen him, but I also noticed a trend with who he selected. Every one of the people he picked had a sign. I said to myself at that point, the next time I see him perform, I’m making a sign and I’m going to be the one to go up.
The next time I was going to his show, on October 16, 2021, it just so happened that I had a pit ticket. That week I thought and thought about what to write on a small sign, but couldn’t think of anything that I truly thought would catch his eye enough to bring me up on stage. When I woke up the morning of the show, it hit me. I knew I needed to make one telling him it was my 10th show and all I wanted to do was shotgun a beer with the legend himself. Side note, I had never shotgunned a beer before this day. I practiced at home before I left for the show and thought I did pretty well. I knew if he picked me, there was probably a good chance that I would embarrass myself.
When I got to the venue in Burgettstown, I immediately got in line and was the first one there, so I knew I was getting the spot I wanted right in the middle of the stage. The sign was rolled up in my hoodie pocket, and the day was going exactly how I wanted it to go. He comes out and is putting on an amazing show, when he starts the song Am I The Only One. That is the song he brings someone to the stage. I grabbed my sign and held it up when he came to the little walkway in the middle of the stage. He looked down, grabbed my sign from me, and then read it over the mic for everyone to hear it. He then looked down at me and said, “I can’t disappoint this guy on his 10th show of mine, get your ass up here!”
When I got up on stage, I turned around and saw an endless amount of people. (I thought I heard them say around 15,000) He asked me my name and then asked me if I knew how to shotgun a beer. I said of course, and he walked me back to the middle of the stage where his stage manager handed us each a beer. Next thing I know I’m shotgunning that beer and not caring how well I did or not. It took about 3 seconds or so, and I didn’t get the whole thing, but I feel like I did well. He told me I impressed him with it so that made it all worth while. The best part of this night was knowing my parents were in the crowd and got to witness the whole thing.
This was honestly one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me. I have been to hundreds of concerts and have seen shows in 11 different states as of writing this article. Buy those concert tickets. Make time to travel. You never know when amazing things will happen. Memories last a lifetime. Make as many as you can, while you can.
>Shotgunning a Beer with Dierks Bentley>>
