Country music star Dierks Bentley‘s “Hold the Light” was written for and will be featured in the movie Only the Brave, starring Jeff Bridges, Miles Teller, Josh Brolin, Taylor Kitsch, and Jennifer Connelly. The film comes out on October 20th, but Bentley just released the music video for the track. Check it out here!
The film is based on a true story about a group of Arizona firefighters called the Granite Mountain Hotshots who risked their lives to save their town from a massive wildfire. Check out the film’s latest trailer below:
“This song hits really close to me because we wrote it based on the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots,” said Bentley, according to Radio.com. “One of the most powerful takeaways for me from working on this project has been the need to search for hope and light even in the darkest of times. I think right now that message is more meaningful than ever.”
Bentley is an Arizona native, so he remembers when the wildfire happened.
“I was on the road when the fire happened back in 2013, and we went out to do a little benefit in awareness for these families and the community of Prescott,” Bentley tells Billboard. “So we did a concert there and got to meet some of the families, meet Brendan [McDonough], the one firefighter that survived.”
After his involvement immediately following the wildfire, Bentley was asked to collaborate on the movie’s original song. Though it was written in an earlier form by other songwriters, such as Bon Iver’s S. Carey, Bentley says he helped rework the bridge. Then, he was eventually asked to record the song himself.
The music video features scenes from the film and uses light projections, going along with the song’s title. Check it out below!
“I’m really happy with the way it turned out. It’s probably one of my favorite recording deals that I’ve had to be a part of, so I’m pretty excited,” Bentley said.
In addition, the track is getting Oscar buzz for best original song. Bentley says that it’s really big for him, especially with the other “really good songs, like crazy artists, like crazy movies that are coming out from people that I really really respect and it’s a tough list to even get near.”
Only the Brave marks Bentley’s first time writing songs for films, and he finds the process quite grueling. “It messes you up, that movie is so powerful to me that for three weeks I was just physically in a daze, it hit me so hard,” he said, according to Billboard. “Trying to put yourself as a character in the movie and try to write as they would try to say it, It’s a totally different way of writing. Usually, I just write from my own experience.”
Though the writing process is tough, Bentley finds the challenge enjoyable, and he hopes to do it again sometime.
Share this incredible song with other fans of the singer-songwriter!
