Dierks Bentley has done it again. Sunday marked the eighth annual Miles and Music for Kids charity motorcycle ride and concert in Nashville, where Dierks led over 1,000 riders on a 40-mile ride from Columbia, TN to Riverfront Park.
The show itself featured performances by Jake Owen, Brett Eldredge, Chase Rice, Easton Corbin, Luke Bryan, Dierks and more. When you have a lineup like that, you’re going to make some money for the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. And make money they did: Over $307,000; a new record for the event.
The festival stayed true to its down-home roots, despite an estimated 10,000 people in attendance. The setup was fairly minimal (at least in comparison to the shows these guys typically put on) and the performances stayed very fun and casual.
Owen played four songs acoustically, including his smash Barefoot Blue Jean Night as well as a Hank Jr. cover. Bentley’s band was set up on stage to join Brett Eldredge and Easton Corbin, as they had the crowd singing along to their hits Don’t Ya and A Little More Country Than That respectively.
Then, all host Storme Warren had to say was, “Luke Bryan,” and the place went berserk. Bryan also played acoustically, and in true Luke Bryan fashion, was cracking jokes, sometimes in the middle of the song. He also took the time to tell the story of how he almost cut off his thumb cooking ribs on Halloween:
“It’s fun doing this with stitches,” he joked. “You always want to cut your thumb off on CMA week.”
Bryan and his guitar sounded just fine, but he ain’t got nothing on Jake Owen’s performance at BMI several weeks ago…
Finally, Dierks took the stage, although the crowd had been catching glimpses of him periodically through the night running around back stage with his daughter. The ever-grateful Bentley wasted very little time talking, only thanking everyone involved and the audience for coming. He gave everyone what they came to see, performing hits such as Am I the Only One, 5-1-5-0, Every Mile a Memory and Home.
Dierks also played a new song about partying “on the back porch” that was still a work in progress. Before he went into the bridge, he asked the audience to give him feedback on what they thought. Not surprisingly, it was met with massive applause, and even a beer tossed at Dierks from the VIP section.
In the middle of the set, Warren re-entered to present the check of $307,296 made out to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and signed by Dierks himself.
