Dierks Bentley is gearing up for his Burning Man Tour 2019, which kicks off Thursday (January 17th) in Hamilton, Ontario. He’s taking pal Jon Pardi along for the ride for the third time, and Dierks recalls he was “nuts” over hearing Jon perform for the first time nearly 10 years ago.

“The first time I heard Jon I was sitting on my bus, we were playing a show out in California somewhere, kind of a random gig, and I heard this voice and I heard the band. I hear a lot of music over the course of a year on the road, and there’s just that one small thing that makes something stand out to you. I remember hearing it on my bus, through the walls of my bus, we were pretty far from the stage, and going, ‘Okay, there’s something really cool going on,’” says Dierks. “I got off the bus and went down there and watched this guy, and he was brand new. He had a steel guitar player that had a pet squirrel that lived inside his shirt. You can’t make this stuff up. I mean, it was a rogue band. It was early on, and this guy he’s out there just slaying it, slinging these words out there and playing telecaster. I was like, ‘This guy is going to be someone.’ I called my booking agent Jay Williams and said, ‘This guy’s great, man,’ and this is probably 10 years ago.”

Newcomer Tenille Townes will also be on the road with Dierks and Jon.

Dierks is sitting inside the Top 5 on the country charts with his current hit, “Burning Man,” featuring Brothers Osborne.