The Reason He Rides: Country Weekly Reports on Dierks Bentley's MM4K

Dierks Bentley landed a three-page feature article with some great photos in the November 22, 2010 Country Weekly issue. Country Weekly spoke to Dierks at his fifth annual Miles and Music For Kids event. He talks about the reason he rides motorcycles and raises funds for sick kids. "More and more bikes every year. The support from the community is always a surprise. You never know what to expect...it's a great energy when you get a bunch of motorcycles together all going down the street together...it raises awareness." The ride/concert raised over $250,000 for Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville in October. Be sure to buy your copy if you don't subscribe to Country Weekly.

Bentley & Bikers Bring in $50,000 For Kids in Seattle

Dierks Bentley got soaked to the bone in Seattle, but he didn't settle for a slow down. Instead he raised over $50,000 for Seattle Childrens Hospital with the help of about 6,000 bikers and fans. Bentley's Miles & Music For Kids event at the Puyallup Fair in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, Sept. 18, continued despite heavy rains. (Photo credit: Elizabeth Longanecker)

"Rainy days arent typically when most people are itching to get out the motorcycle for a leisurely afternoon ride," laughed Bentley. "But...we've come to learn over the last few years of putting these rides on that motorcycle riders may look big and bad, but they have a heart of gold, and it would take a lot more than a little rain to deter them. I want to thank all the riders and fans that came out and got soaked with us. We had a blast!"

A few of our very own DB Congress Washington reps participated in the event in person--Beth and Pearl.

I first met Beth (PuyallupGal) through dierks.com 5 years ago. I quickly realized she was a die-hard Dierks fan from day one and I learned a lot from her about the background of Dierks' career. She travels all over the country to see Dierks and was excited to have him perform only 3 miles from her house--and she had a front row ticket! Here's what she told me about the MM4K event:

"It had been 7 1/2 years since Dierks played his first performance at the Puyallup Spring Fair, and it was very exciting to not only have him back in Puyallup again, but to have him back for such a wonderful cause. Supporting Seattle Children's Hospital was certainly a bonus to purchasing a ticket to this show but to see the way Dierks' career has changed since that first show in April of 2003, made Saturday a very memorable night. Personally, the VIP acoustic performance prior to the concert was the highlight of the night for me as it is rare to have an opportunity to hear the songs stripped down in such a small setting. In true Washington fashion, the rain started coming down around 3PM and didn't let up all night. But it certainly didn't stop the 6,000 fans from coming out to see Dierks and the boys put on a GREAT show & support an even better cause!" A few of Beth's photos are below:





Pearl says, "Dierks was incredible as always. He's such a ball of energy!!! I can never pick just one picture, so I wanted to send all of my favorites. By the way, the first picture below is him commenting on the rain and the fact that we were enjoying standing out in it! He wanted to join us! The next one is Dierks sitting in front of the drums and listening to the audience sing, 'All My Exes.' He said they sang that song on one of his first visits to Seattle at the ShowBox."

Enjoy all of Pearl Sumpter's photos:















KMPS 94.1 Seattle's Country radio called Dierks "The Rain King." Listen to the on-air interview with Candy + Potter when Dierks called in:



Last year, Bentley joined forces with Nationwide Insurance, CMT ONE COUNTRY and the Children's Miracle Network to expand the successful "Miles & Music for Kids" event to six cities across the country in 2009 and 2010, with all proceeds benefiting Children's Miracle Network hospitals in those areas. Since it began in 2006, "Miles & Music for Kids" has raised over $1.3 million. The 5th Anniversary event will take place in Nashville, on October 17.

DIERKS' MILES AND MUSIC FOR KIDS SET FOR SEATTLE, SEPT. 18th

Dierks Bentley is continuing his nationwide "Miles & Music for Kids" celebrity motorcycle ride and concert series with a stop in Seattle on Sat., Sept.18. Presented by Nationwide Insurance, proceeds from the event will benefit the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The 45-minute ride will depart Destination Harley-Davidson of Tacoma (2302 Pacific Hwy E Tacoma, WA 98424) and travel to the Puyallup Fair (110 9th Ave SW Puyallup, WA 98371). Tickets for the family-friendly event go on sale March 27 here. Prices start at $25, with special VIP packages also available.

“With our events in Nashville and Phoenix down, we are already well into planning Dallas and now Seattle too,” says Bentley. “The Puyallup Fair said they’d like to partner with us for this one, so we jumped at the chance. The more folks we can get involved, the more money we can raise!”

Last year, Bentley joined forces with Nationwide Insurance, CMT ONE COUNTRY and the Children's Miracle Network to expand the successful "Miles & Music for Kids" event to six cities across the country in 2009 and 2010, with all proceeds benefiting Children's Miracle Network hospitals in those areas. Since it began in 2006, "Miles & Music for Kids" has raised over $1 million.

For the latest news, visit http://dierks.com/miles-and-music-kids

I know at least one Puyallup DB Congress member who's been waiting for this date to be announced!

Four down and two cities to go! Can't wait for the dates and line-ups for Atlanta and Chicago M&M4K to be announced!