Dierks Bentley recently took home a trophy that will certainly mean a lot to him.
The 50-year-old country music star has been connecting with fans ever since his 2003 hit “What Was I Thinking” helped make him a household name. Bentley has always had a gift when it comes delivering music to the masses, and ever since 2012, he’s also made it a point to be an advocate for music education.
For over a decade, the “Off the Map” singer has been helping promote the CMA Foundation’s mission to equip schools with instruments, music supplies, and whatever other resources are necessary for continued music education. So it wasn’t all that surprising that Bentley was recognized for his charitable contributions during a CMA Songwriters Series performance that took place in New York City at Racket NYC.
CMA CEO Sarah Trahern surprised Bentley with the philanthropic award, and the official CMA account shared the news this morning:
“Congratulations to Dierks Bentley on being awarded with the 2025 CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award! This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated humanitarian leadership through community involvement, financial support, personal volunteerism and advocacy.”
Well deserved honor for Dierks Bentley.
The CMA Humanitarian Award has been handed out every year since 2014. The likes of Kix Brooks, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton and Darius Rucker have all taken home the award over the years. Dierks Bentley is the latest country music star to be honored with the award that’s given to those who show strong commitment to causes that are important to the Country Music Association… and the country music world at large.
It’s a great start to what will be a eventful 2026 for Dierks Bentley. The country music star is supporting Luke Combs on his My Kind of Saturday Night Tour now through early June. Once he wraps that up, he’ll be going out on his own, headlining Off The Map Tour.
The tour gets inspiration from a song that was included on Broken Branches. I actually wrote last year that “Off The Map” could be one of the best songs of Bentley’s career, and it’s nice to see that an entire tour is being built around the idea of that track. And Dierks is bringing plenty of talent along with him out on the road… for both the audience’s enjoyment and his own (more on that later).
Bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs, the uberly talented Kaitlin Butts, and the rising Mountain Grass Unit (along with Cole Goodwin and Owen Reigling) are all joining Bentley on the Off The Map Tour. It’s set to hit 11 cities in just six weeks, with dates spread throughout June and July. You can check out this list below to see if Bentley is coming to a town near you:
Off the Map Tour Dates
6/12 – Rogers, AR < ~
6/13 – Kansas City, MO < ~
6/25 – Bonner, MT ! #
6/26 – Airway Heights, WA * #
7/2 – Colorado Springs, CO < #
7/9 – Gilford, NH < *
7/10 – Bridgeport, CT < *
7/11 – Canandaigua, NY < *
7/16 – Wilmington, NC < #
7/17 – Charleston, SC < #
7/18 – St. Augustine, FL < #
< Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
* Kaitlin Butts
# Cole Goodwin
~ Owen Riegling
! Mountain Grass Unit
Here’s “Off The Map” in case you haven’t had a chance to hear it:
