Dierks Bentley Gets His Motor Running to Help Special Kids

Dierks Bentley is riding high with the release of his latest album, 'Up on the Ridge,' but he's also taking time to host his fifth annual 'Miles & Music for Kids' celebrity motorcycle ride and benefit concert on October 17 in Nashville.

In the years Dierks has hosted the event, it's raised more than $1.2 million for children's hospitals in Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta.

"I just think it's important to use your celebrity currency in a positive way in the community," Dierks tells The Boot about the origins of the ride. "I really wanted to support local hospitals and I love cycles and music so I thought combining all three would be a great way to do that while having a blast."

This year's hour-long ride will start at a new location, Harley-Davidson of Columbia (1616 Harley Davidson Blvd., Columbia, Tenn.), and end at Riverfront Park in downtown Nashville. Dierks, Miranda Lambert, Jerrod Niemann and other soon-to-be-announced performers will then participate in the benefit concert.

Dierks has joined forces with CMT One Country and the Children's Miracle Network to further expand the ride to other cities.

"I'm really excited about this and partnering up with CMT and the Children's Miracle Network," says Dierks, whose cycle of choice is a 2003 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softcell. "[These events are] to help parents not have to worry about where the money is coming from and be able to concentrate on their [hospitalized] child ... "

Fans might recall that Dierks' wife Cassidy went into labor and had daughter Evie only hours before the ride two years ago. Dierks went right from Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt -- the hospital that the ride benefits and where Evie was born -- to the ride.

Cassidy is pregnant again this year, but the second addition to the Bentley clan is not due until December.

Tickets go on sale Friday, August 20 through Ticketmaster. A $50 ticket entitles the holder to participate in the ride, enjoy the concert and receive a commemorative T-shirt. Tickets for the concert only cost $20 each. Special VIP packages are available, too. All proceeds benefit the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, a Children's Miracle Network.

For more details about the event, go to Dierks' website.

Dierks is currently on tour with his next concert scheduled for Saturday, August 21 in Austin, Texas. For a complete list of dates and cities, go here.