Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan Look Forward to Tonight's ACM Honors

Dierks Bentley steps into the role of emcee for tonight's ACM Honors at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.  He took the gig because some of his musical heroes, including Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs and Dwight Yoakam are being recognized at the event. Says Dierks, "When I saw that, I was like, I'm in 'cause all of those people have had influences on me one way or the other." Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson and Vince Gill are among the other stars being recognized at the ACM Honors, so Dierks can count on a music industry-heavy audience."I don't know what I've gotten myself into, but we'll see," Dierks says with a laugh. "Hopefully I don't screw it up too bad." Don't expect Dierks to expand this hosting gig into other roles similar to Blake Shelton on The Voice or Keith Urban on American Idol though. Dierks was actually approached to compete on Dancing with the Stars a few years ago and turned it down. It isn't just his complete lack of dancing skills, Dierks simply doesn't have time to focus on anything but his music.
He says, "I love writing songs. I love being in a band and being on the road. I don't know where the time would come from. You'd have to create more time." Luke Bryan will perform at the ACM Honors with his pal Dallas Davidson, who is this year's ACM Songwriter of the Year. They've penned some of Luke's biggest hits together including "I Don't Want This Night to End," "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" and "Rain Is a Good Thing." Luke says, "The history between he and I is just so deep. It’s amazing, I mean, that I can have the opportunity to honor him on that night and do some of our songs." Luke and Dallas have written a few new songs that Luke is putting on his next studio album too. Hunter Hayes, Kellie Pickler, Jana Kramer, Randy Houser, Love and Theft, Big Kenny and Clint Black are among the other stars participating in ACM Honors as either performers or presenters. Catch itt tonight at 7 on ABC!