Dierks Bentley surprised fans when he made a stop at the Country Music Hall of Fame to see his Every Mile a Memory exhibit in full swing. He went inside the exhibit and fans who were touring the museum suddenly started taking photos of the star who popped his head up over a mannequin and kissed one of his most cherished items – his guitar with signatures of George Jones, Merle Haggard, Garth Brooks and more. He then ended up downstairs signing autographs and visiting with numerous lucky folks.

Dierks, who considers himself a huge country music fan, enjoys spending time and being present with his own fans. “I love this music. I love listening to country radio. I love listening to records,” says Dierks. “There’s people I get star-struck being around, so I understand what it’s like to be a fan. It’s unbelievable what they do for waiting in line like that. Whenever I’m signing stuff like that, I don’t use a chair. I don’t use a table. I stand up just like they do, and I’ll stand for six hours as long as they are, and try to be present with everyone I talk to. It might only be for 10 seconds, maybe it was longer than that, but I try to get as much out of that interaction as I possibly can, because it’s special.”

He also feels that CMA Music Festival is a time to give thanks to the fans. “I always feel like today’s like a day of Thanksgiving for us country singers to go out there and say, ‘Thank you for being you and having that passion, so we all get to do what we love to do.’”

Dierks is making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Different for Girls,” featuring Elle King.