DIERKS GOES TO BAT FOR ARF

Dierks Bentley rescued both his dogs - Jake and George. So it was no surprise that he agreed to St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony LaRussa's invitation to go to bat and help raise money to benefit animals, during Sunday night's concert in St. Louis, MO.

DB Congress Missouri Rep, Takara Dingley, posted a video of Dierks talking about how he acquired George (his weiner dog) on her facebook page. Click here.

People Rescuing Animals... Animals Rescuing People® That's the bio line from @ARFtweets, the Twitter page for Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation. Tony persuaded artists of various genres to perform to raise money for ARF. Dierks was the headliner, supported by Dennis DeYoung (Styx founder), Kathleen Madigan, Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain, up and coming country artist David Nail and the Lovehammers.

Photo Credit: DBC MO Rep, Takara Dingley

"You don't ask people to do their whole show," LaRussa said. "You ask them to pitch a couple innings, take a couple at bats."

And that's exactly what they did. Dierks did not bring drummer Steve Misamore and bassist Robbie Harrington for the full blown extravaganza he is known for, but instead opted for an acoustic set with banjo man Tim Sergent and lead guitarist Rod Janzen including, "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)," "Feel That Fire," "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" and "What Was I Thinkin'."

Photo Credit: DBC MO Rep, Takara Dingley

Photo Credit: DBC IL Rep, Kristin Toon

DB Congress reps were in full force including David (KY), Debbie (IL), Kim (MO), Sara (MO), Bonnie (MO), Kristin (IL), Jayme (IL) and Takara (MO) (Photos below by Kim Durham).

Kim & Bonnie

Sarah, David, & Debbie

David and Debbie did get to talk to Dierks briefly, and told him about the 40 people chatting and listening online while he played the Opry Saturday night.

Dierks Bentley and St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa (Tim Sergent far left) Photo credit: Aimee Files

Dierks hit another home run, helping to raise money for an organization close to his heart--yes, he rescued George and Jake, but they rescued him right back and are a permanent part of the Bentley family. All the while on stage, Dierks was melting hearts in the audience with his voice and songs.