Jay Ballinger Stays the Course for Kids

Those of you who are die-hard Dierks Bentley fans probably have met funny guy and stage manager Jay Ballinger.  Little did we know, the Louisville native hosts an annual celebrity golf scramble, benefiting Louisville's Home of the Innocents, where Ballinger and his sister were both under the custody of when they were adopted at birth.

The second annual "On The Course For Kids" will be held on Monday, September 19 at Quail Chase Golf Club, 7000 Cooper Chapel Road, in Louisville, KY.   Celebrities scheduled to attend this year include country music artists Jake Owen, Josh Thompson, Bucky Covington, and Miss Willie Brown among others, all of whom have toured with Dierks Bentley.

The two man scramble will have a shot gun start at noon on Monday, September 19, with an acoustic concert following the awards ceremony at approximately 6:45 p.m. Registration for golfers is $100 per person. Tickets for the concert are $15 in advance or $20 day of show. All proceeds will benefit Home of the Innocents.

Fans are invited to come out to watch the scramble and meet and greet with the celebrities. Although there is no charge for watching, donations can be made at the registration table or by visiting Home of the Innocents. Return for the intimate acoustic concert and know that the entire purchase price of your ticket will benefit the Home.

According to Louisville.com, "Ballinger has now found such a comfortable place working with Dierks Bentley that he has turned down opportunities to join the tours of Kid Rock and Bon Jovi."

Jay Ballinger, side stage, Boone, NC - 7-23-11

“I feel really lucky,” said Ballinger. “I look at some of these kids, I feel lucky that I had great parents who adopted me, let me chase my dreams, and I never had to spend a day in that home. I never had to be in that situation and placed in foster care and all that stuff,” he continued.

Last year, in the first celebrity golf scramble, Ballinger and friends raised nearly $47,000 for the Home.

“I was one of the fortunate ones,” Ballinger said. “I’m in a place that I can give back. If you’re in place that you can give back and you can afford to give back, I feel like you should pay it forward. And that’s what I’m doing. I couldn’t think of anyone else that deserves it more than children.”

Best of luck, Jay!  We hope you beat last year's total and surpass $50,000!  We've got a lot of DB Congress reps in Kentucky that I'm sure will want to support this worthy cause!

See ya on the road!

~Ronna
DB Congress Chair
Florida

Miles & Music for Kids: Nashville

Dierks Bentley will host his sixth annual "Miles & Music for Kids" celebrity motorcycle ride and benefit concert on Oct. 16 in Nashville.

Over the event's six year history, it has raised $1.6 million for children's hospitals in Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Seattle, Columbus and is also slated to stop in Chicago on Oct. 9.

The hour-long motorcycle ride will once again kick off at the Harley-Davidson in Columbia, Tenn. and end at Riverfront Park in downtown Nashville with a concert featuring Bentley and special guests including Eli Young Band, Colt Ford and Josh Thompson. Other artists will be added to the bill.
Tickets for the family-friendly event go on sale on Friday, Sept. 9 through Ticketmaster. Tickets for the ride, concert and commemorative T-shirt are $50, or those looking to attend the concert only can purchase tickets for $20. Sponsored by Nationwide Insurance, all proceeds from the Nashville event will benefit Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, a Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

In 2009, Bentley joined forces with Nationwide Insurance, CMT ONE COUNTRY and the Children's Miracle Network to take the successful "Miles & Music for Kids" benefit on the road, and has since expanded to visit six cities.For the latest news and ongoing artist announcements, visit www.dierks.com.

Dierks Bentley Raises $143,145 for Nationwide Children's Hospital

Anybody who's ever experienced a Dierks Bentley concert knows he loves to run around the stage and cut up with the crowd--he's quite the comedian.  But while yesterday's show in Columbus, Ohio was every bit of THAT Bentley, the Miles & Music for Kids Motorcycle ride, followed by an all-star concert was altogether serious business.  During his set, Dierks signed the check on stage, to Nationwide Children's Hospital for $143,145 adding to his impressive $1.5 million raised over the last five years for Childrens Miracle Network hospitals all over the country.

The day began at the A.D Farrow Co. Harley-Davidson dealership--America's Oldest Harley Dealer™.  Dierks arrived around noon and met with the media, including Adam Black from CMT One Country who partners with the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

After the interviews, Dierks began taking photos with the surrounding crowd.  When he got around to me and Kathy I quickly took off my DB Congress bracelet and gave it to him to wear on his ride.  He said "Thank you so much for coming.  I will be carrying DB Congress with me on the ride today."

Dierks tweeted throughout the day:

"MILES AND MUSIC for KIDS today in Columbus. one of the best things I get to do each year. let's raise a bunch of money for @nationwidekids."

"heard there already 700 bikes presold at AD Farrow Harley Davidson dealership. that is killer! headed up there now...!"

Dierks' bike:

"@joenichols bus just pulled in to venue. @unclekracker @misswilliebrown and @joshthompson here too."

"and our host/mc today, helping us raise tons of cash for families and kids at nationwide childrens hospital #adamblack of #cmt is here..."

"1000+ bikes stretch over 8 miles!! thx Columbus Police for never letting our feet touch the ground (and sorry to the cars that waited...!) "

"rowdy crowd out there for @misswilliebrown and @joshthompson now. love it. thanks y'all for being so supportive of this cause."

"in the hometown of our MILES AND MUSIC 4 KIDS sponsor #nationwideinsurance columbus Ohio.... you guys are making this one really special."

"thx country music fans and all the motorcycle riders today at MILES AND MUSIC 4 KIDS in Columbus, OH. last estimate $143,000 for kids! #fb"

We arrived at the LC Pavillion ahead of the bikes and found the VIP seating and lounge.  We were a little disappointed the VIP section was behind the standing room only pit that held a couple hundred people. But we sat front row center and got lots of DB love as he pointed to us a few times throughout his set. That made up for the far away from the stage seats. (although we never sat down).

Urban Rose opened the line-up, followed by Miss Willie Brown, Josh Thompson, and Uncle Kracker.  Dierks came out and introduced Joe Nichols ("We have been friends a long time--used to play the honky tonks together") and actually played back up guitar for him, along with the team dude band. 


Miss Willie Brown- Kasey Buckley and Amanda Watkins 



Josh Thompson sang acoustic with former DB guitarist Rod Janzen





Uncle Kracker: "I thought I WAS Kenny Rogers when I was young," sang "The Gambler"  



Joe Nichols backed by Bentley

The local Nationwide Employees donated $5,000 toward the day's total.

The tear-jerker yet heart-warming moment of the day was the host family coming on stage and telling their story.  The mom told us their son was 2-years-old when they found out he had a heart 3 times the normal size and would die without a heart-transplant.  The Nationwide Children's Hospital was there for them, he got his transplant and is now a happy, healthy 5-year-old!  He was so cute constantly waving both hands to the crowd--we all waved back and cheered!  That brought reality to the reason we were all there--to help the kids!

Another memorable moment was the autographed guitar auction--all artists that day signed it.  The final winning bid was $7,000 from one of our very own DB Congress (fan club) members--Sarah Ansel, from Lancaster, Ohio.  Dierks called her up on stage and picked her up off the ground and swung her around in a huge hug! She also rode in the procession of bikes.

Later the other bidder who stopped at $6,500 agreed to $7,000 and they all signed another guitar for her. Dierks said, "I remember you, you were the one bidding with the big yellow hands!"

The rain held off until the last few songs, with just a sprinkle during Sideways and What Was I Thinkin'.  Perfect timing.  When I got back to the hotel, there was a rainbow. Perfect ending to a fantastic day!

"Give it up for Steve Misamore on the drums!"

It was great seeing DBC friends and meeting new ones--Jackie, Kathy and Dawn! Always worth flying from Florida to share my Dierks experience with fellow fan-clubbers!

~Ronna Clark
DB Congress Chair

DBTV - Episode 15: Dierks & Josh Thompson Play Paintball

Boys will be boys. Check out Dierks Bentley, Josh Thompson and the rest of the guys as they play a round of paintball. Find out what Dierks give Josh at the end!

Warm Those Winter Blues With Some Spring Tour Dates

Yup, you heard right! Dierks Bentley's spring tour has officially been announced. Get those calendars out and start planning your spring DRTs!

Multiple GRAMMY nominee and chart-topping country music star Dierks Bentley is slated to headline the 2011 JÄGERMEISTER COUNTRY TOUR kicking off March 17. The 30-city tour runs through mid-May and will feature special guest Columbia Nashville road warrior Josh Thompson and brand new A&M/Octone duo Miss Willie Brown. Each concert will also feature a local Jägermeister sponsored country act.

Pre-sale tickets are available to fan club members through www.dierks.com, while the general public will be able to purchase tickets beginning Jan. 21 and Jan. 28 through Ticketmaster. The remaining cities will go on sale over the coming weeks.

“It’s a good thing we’ve got a video crew on the road with us capturing everything that goes down,” laughed Bentley. “Putting my band, Josh Thompson, the Miss Willie Brown girls and a few thousand fans in a Jägermeister sponsored room with loud country music sounds like a pretty solid recipe for a great night!”

“For the brand’s 20th music tour, Jägermeister is bringing top country star Dierks Bentley to the stage to show our dedication and loyalty to country music,” says Bill Henderson, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc. “In addition to this great line-up, Jägermeister is sponsoring over 25 country music acts to open the shows and is looking for more.”

2011 Jägermeister Country Tour Dates:
3/17 Wallingford, CT *
3/18 Sayreville, NJ **
3/19 Atlantic City, NJ **
3/20 Pittsburgh PA **
3/24 Lewiston, ME **
3/25 Poughkeepsie, NY
3/26 Reading, PA **
3/27 Westbury, NY **
4/1 Los Angeles, CA **
4/2 Las Vegas, NV **
4/6 Houston, TX **
4/7 Mescalero, NM **
4/13 Asheville, NC
4/14 North Myrtle Beach, SC **
4/15 Melbourne, FL
4/16 Boca Raton, FL
4/21 Mankato, MN
4/22 Sioux Falls, SD
4/23 Clear Lake, IA
4/27 Salina, KS
4/28 Bloomington, IL
4/29 Saint Charles, MO
5/5 Akron, OH
5/6 Detroit, MI
5/7 Indianapolis, IN
5/11 Augusta, GA
5/12 Charleston, SC
5/13 Norfolk, VA

* Tickets On Sale Jan. 21
** Tickets On Sale Jan. 28

Bentley is currently in Nashville working on material for his next album. Fans can expect the first single this spring and will be able to get glimpses of the recording process along the way through www.dierks.com. The new album will follow in the footsteps of Bentley’s artistically daring and critically acclaimed UP ON THE RIDGE, which recently received three GRAMMY nominations. The Phoenix-native has won countless awards, headlined arena tours, sold over five million albums, and celebrated seven No. one hits (“What Was I Thinkin,” “Come A Little Closer,” “Settle For A Slowdown,” “Every Mile A Memory,” “Free and Easy (Down The Road I Go),” “Feel That Fire,” “Sideways”) since being signed to Capitol Records Nashville.

Columbia Nashville recording artist Josh Thompson stormed onto the country music scene with his debut album WAY OUT HERE – debuting in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart and earning praise from countless critics, including NPR’s Fresh Air, Billboard and People. Thompson wrote or co-wrote all 10 tracks on the album including his current single, “Won’t Be Lonely Long,” which follows previous hits “Way Out Here” and “Beer On The Table.” The blue-collar road warrior played over 240 shows last year ranging from headlining club dates to sold-out arenas with Brad Paisley.

A&M/Octone’s first country release is the vibrant new female duo Miss Willie Brown, comprised of Amanda Watkins from West Virginia and Texas native Kasey Buckley. The two girls met in California waiting tables, instantly bonded over a deep love of country music and have been writing and singing together ever since. Now living in Nashville, the duo is recording their debut album with award winning producer Keith Stegall (Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson) and will release the lead single in the coming months. Miss Willie Brown has been busy honing their live performance chops opening shows for artists including Dwight Yoakam and Billy Currington. They are also the only unsigned band to ever perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live.