Dierks Bentley Receives CRS 2018 Artist Humanitarian Award: ‘I Don’t See This as the End of Something, I See It as a Beginning’
On Monday (Feb. 5), Dierks Bentley received the 2018 CRS Artist Humanitarian Award in a special ceremony. The award was given in recognition of Bentley's substantial charitable work, including his Miles & Music for Kids concert and motorcycle ride, which occurred annually over the span of 10 years and raised over $4 million to benefit children's hospitals across the country, and the Country Cares concert he organized and hosted in support of those affected by wildfires in his home state, Arizona.
Bentley began his acceptance speech with lines from Thomas Rhett's 2016 single "Star of the Show": "Everywhere we go, you're the star of the show / And everybody's wondering and wanting to know / What's your name, who's that girl / With the prettiest smile in the world / Oh, what gets me the most is you don't even know / That you are, you are, you are the star of the show," he quoted, turning the focus to the teams that helped bring his projects to life and the kids that they benefitted.
"I work really hard to make sure that the show is the star of the show," Bentley explained. "These kids -- they're stars. They light up the room. You go to some of these hospitals thinking you're going to do something to raise their spirits, and it turns out to completely be the other way around."
At a separate press conference he recently gave, the singer stated that one of the best parts of receiving an award for his humanitarian efforts was being able to thank all the other people who worked on the projects.
"It was a collaborative effort," he said. "It's awesome to be honored, because it gives me a chance to honor all the people involved in making it happen."
Bentley concluded his acceptance speech by looking toward the future: "I don't see this as the end result of something. I see it as a beginning," he said. "A nod that hopefully we're headed in the right direction and doing something right."
The country singer also gave the keynote address for the three-day Country Radio Seminar event following his award ceremony. CRS 2018 concludes on Wednesday (Feb.7).
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