Dierks Bentley attended a private reception for his new exhibit – Dierks Bentley: Every Mile a Memory – at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Thursday (March 3rd). Some of his personal items he donated included his “Drunk on a Plane” pilot costume, his favorite guitar featuring signatures of several of his musical influences, platinum album, as well as some childhood artifacts including an eighth grade class picture with his wife Cassidy (the two first met in school and dated before losing touch until years later).

“It’s totally surreal. I mean, I understand I’m not in the Hall of Fame, but I am in the Hall of Fame [laughs]. It’s hard to process. I’ve been trying to think about this the last couple months. As folks came by to grab stuff out of the house, I’m trying to figure out what was going to go in here,” says Dierks. “I didn’t use country music as a vehicle to become a star. I’m a star because of, I guess, my passion for country music. I’ve never thought about these things. I’ve never pictured myself having a display at the Country Music Hall of Fame. I don’t save stuff thinking this is going to be, needs to be saved for this or that. There’s so much I’ve lost over the years, but it’s really taken being here right now to actually really grasp this whole thing. It’s hard to comprehend. I mean, it’s the Country Music Hall of Fame, but to even be a part of this in any small way is amazing.”

Dierks is expected to return to the Hall of Fame March 12th to talk about his career and perform an acoustic set. The exhibit will close September 6th.

Dierks is scaling the country charts with his latest single, “Somewhere on a Beach,” the first release from his forthcoming album, Black.