Country star Dierks Bentley knows a little about making hits. His very first single, 2003’s “What Was I Thinkin’” was a country Number One, and he’s had a dozen more since then. But he says that how to write hits is still a mystery.

“I wish I could crack that code,” he says by phone from the Northwest, where he’s getting in some fishing between tour stops. “I remember reading an article in the New York Times, that was talking about Norah Jones and had a computer program explaining why her song was a hit. And I was thinking, ‘Great — Now we can take all the guesswork out of this.’ But of course the songs that you don’t expect to be a hit always are, and vice versa. I think I know when I have a song that will sell, and that country radio will like. But there’s a difference between that, and songs that really move the needle and fans will really connect with. And I’ll never stop trying to write those.”

Diversity has always been one of Bentley’s trademarks. His recent “Gravel & Gold” shows his ability to put old-school country, radio-friendly Nashville country, and bluegrass on the same album. “The bands I grew up watching in Nashville were always a combination of those things, like bluegrass bands who’d do a Johnny Cash song. I feel that there’s room for both, and I think fans today are looking for a little authenticity in their music. There’s a lot of Zach Bryan fans and Noah Kahan fans who love to hear the fiddle and the banjo.”

Though he’s written his share of serious tunes, Bentley does love a good drinking song, with 2014’s “Drunk on a Plane” being one of his biggest. “It’s funny, I was playing a grade school one time for the Country Music Association. And I looked at my songs and said ‘Uh, that one talks about drinking, can’t do it. And uh, this other one does too.’ I never realized I had so many. But that was certainly a big part of my upbringing, since I heard Hank Jr. when I was 17, and it’s part of what you write about — the road, the party, what you’re experiencing. But at the  same time I’m trying to write more about where I am right now — a lot of living and a lot of gratitude.”

There should be a couple of surprise highlights in Bentley’s show at the Xfinity Center on Friday. One is “American Girl,” the Tom Petty classic that he recently covered for a tribute album. Another will be an encore appearance by the Hot Country Knights — the parody alter-ego of Bentley and his band — who’ll perform a medley of all those ‘90s country hits, including “Achy Breaky Heart,” that you never thought you’d hear again.

“You can’t get rid of those guys,” he says of the Knights. “It’s a little Spinal Tappy for sure. The first time we did it at a show was when the opening band didn’t show up, so we opened for ourselves and I thought, ‘This is gonna end my career’ — but the fans wound up loving it. The Knights claim that they trademarked the ‘90s and everybody stole from them; and they claim they really wrote all those ‘90s hits. But all they really did was write them down on the setlist.”