Bentley climbs "The Mountain" in June

Bentley co-wrote 10 of the 13 new tracks that range in style from rock to acoustic folk. The releases features tracks with Brothers Osborne and Brandi Carlile. Bluegrass aces Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Tim O'Brien all play on the disc.

The story behind the disc begins in Telluride, Col., which hosts a major bluegrass festival every summer. Bentley, who previously released a bluegrass-based album, has attended the festival multiple times over the years. But after performing on the festival's main stage in 2017 influenced Bentley's recording decision.

"I found myself there, constantly reaching for my guitar," Bentley said. "It was like a gravitational pull. That town and those people just make you want to be creative, I couldn't describe it. I was like 'How do I tell everyone in Nashville this is what I want to write about?' I realized I couldn't bring it back, so I had to take everyone out there."

Returning that August with six of his most trusted songwriting collaborators, Bentley and his fellow 'Telluwriters' all bunked up in a small house. They had five days to work with and were hoping to write eight songs, but wrote almost twice that number.

Bentley returned to Telluride with his production team Ross Copperman, Jon Randall Stewart and Arturo

"For me it's the best of both worlds, and it feels like something new. It's powerful but also happy, with acoustic sensibility mixed in with the big sounds I like to have for the road," Bentley said. "They are the songs I'd play for somebody to say, 'This is who I am right now.'"

The track list is:
1. Burning Man (Featuring Brothers Osborne)
2. The Mountain
3. Living
4. Woman, Amen
5. You Can't Bring Me Down
6. Nothing On But The Stars
7. Goodbye In Telluride
8. My Religion
9. One Way
10. Son Of The Sun
11. Stranger To Myself
12. Travelin' Light (Featuring Brandi Carlile)
13. How I'm Going Out

Bentley starts the 2018 Mountain High Tour on May 18 in Columbia, Md.