Dierks Bentley & Friends Benefit Raises Big Money for Families of Arizona Firefighters

Dierks Bentley and some of his celebrity friends pulled off a big victory in Arizona Monday night (July 22). The hastily-arranged Country Cares concert pulled in nearly half a million dollars for the families of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots, firefighters who lost their lives fighting the recent Arizona fire.

Bentley had just over a week to organize the event. Determined to help his home state, the 'Bourbon in Kentucky' singer enlisted the Band Perry, David Nail and Randy Houser for the event, which he headlined. Local radio stations the New KMLE Country @ 107.9 and 92.9 KAFF Country were also on board for the event, which took place at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

With their families in attendance, Bentley honored the firefighters who perished with a photo tribute during his first-ever live performance of a new song, 'Here on Earth.' He also performed a special version of 'Home' that featured a bagpipe intro by the Rural Metro Pipe and Drum Corp.

The Country Cares concert raised more than $476,000 dollars. That money will go to the United Phoenix Firefighters Charities, who will directly distribute funds to the families of the 19 fallen firefighters.