Dierks Bentley Grateful For 'Courageous' Men and Women Who Serve Overseas

Dierks Bentley has a lot of respect for those in the U.S. Armed Forces. The "Woman, Amen" singer says he knows the sacrifices he makes for his career pale in comparison to what those serving in the military give up.

"On the most basic level, I think, for me on the road, I just think about being gone two, three days at a time, maybe a couple of weeks at a time," says Bentley. "That seems like a long time when you have kids and family, but these soldiers, they're gone for months and years at a time – they're doing 12 to 15 to 18 months — and they have family back home. That, in itself, is such a huge sacrifice, and that's just the beginning of it.

"That's just scratching the surface of what these guys [and gals] are doing every day – preparing for battle, actually being in battle, being wounded in battle, sometimes dying in battle," he adds. "So, this country obviously, we would not exist without those courageous men and women, and our future depends upon them."

Bentley might not be gone for months at a time, but he is spending the summer on the road. The Arizona native is currently out on his Mountain High Tour, joined by Brothers Osborne and LANCO as his opening acts.

"I just want this to be fun for me at the end of the day," Bentley maintains. "I've got a lot of great stuff going on and I'm gonna spend the whole summer out there. I've got a nine-year-old, a seven-year-old and four-year-old. It's more than just; it's not about making money. It's about my life. I want to have a great summer, have a lot of fun, make a lot of great memories, be totally present from the second we get there on-site, thinking of the fans' experience when they first pull into a tailgate to when they leave and get home safely."

Bentley's The Mountain album will be out on June 8, inspired by, written and recorded in Colorado.

"The whole experience was transformative for me, and it was going out on a limb with a little idea and following it to the end," Bentley tells Nashville's Tennessean. "It was a really magical experience. But I know we're in Nashville, Tennessee, and everybody is making records. It's hard for me to balance the specialness of this album with overthinking my overall experience in this town."

Find a list of all of Bentley's upcoming shows by visiting his website.

Photo Credit: Instagram/dierksbentley