Dierks Bentley, along with Elle King and Lainey Wilson, will host this year’s CMA Fest TV special. The three-hour primetime concert special, which is set to film in Nashville this week, will air July 19th beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC.

Returning to host the special for the second year in a row, Dierks is looking forward to hangtime with his artist friends and watching incredible performances, but most of all, working with two of the funniest people he knows.

“Hosting the CMA Fest is the ultimate gig. It’s so fun,” says Dierks. “I mean, I’ve hosted some big awards show as well and those are great too, but this is a four-day festival, so I get to be there for four days. And which if I was doing it by myself, it would be great because you get a chance to see all your artist buddies you don’t see very often, hear great music, see the all-stars of the country music fans, people that travel from all over the world to be here and they bring the most energy. It’s the greatest fans to play in front of, BUT I get to co-host this with two of the funniest people I know – Elle King and Lainey Wilson. I mean, yes, talented beyond all talent, both incredible stylists vocally that sound like nobody else, great songwriters. You can list all that stuff. Whatever. Who cares? They’re funny. They’re so fun to be around. They make you laugh the whole time, so it doesn’t even feel like work. It just feels like this is ridiculous that I get the chance to hang out with these girls. So, yeah, we’re hosting the CMA Fest. Last year it was Elle and I; this year we’re bringing on Lainey Wilson…It’s going to be so much fun. I cannot wait. It’s gonna be the greatest CMA Fest of all time.”

The CMA Fest television event will feature never-before-seen performances and surprise collaborations from some of the best in the Country Music format.

Dierks, who recently hit the top of the country charts with “Gold,” just kicked off his Gravel & Gold Tour last week.