Dierks Bentley Recalls Meeting Alan Jackson as A Fan

Dierks Bentley is one of four country stars, including Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, and Jon Pardi, that will pay tribute to Country Music Hall of Fame member Alan Jackson when he is honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the CMA Awards on November 9.

Dierks posted a story of when he first met Jackson when he first arrived in Nashville. He wrote, "The first country singer I ever met in Nashville when I moved here in 1994 was Alan Jackson….and by "met" I mean stalked!"

Bentley continued, "I was in the Green Hills Mall when I saw him and his wife, Denise. I waited outside for probably half an hour until he walked out. I shook his hand and told him I was a huge fan. That's all I wanted, was a handshake and to be able to tell him that. Not sure how much it meant to him, but it meant a lot to me! I remember watching him drive away in a lifted Chevy suburban, which I thought was pretty cool since I drove a lifted Chevy Silverado."

He concluded with, "Going to be a special night at the #CMAAwards this year… humbled to be honoring Alan Jackson receiving the 2022 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award with a live performance. Tune in on Wednesday, November 9th on @abcnetwork."

Fans loved his post, including one that commented, "So good for your fans to hear that you were once a fan like this: waiting for a handshake outside the mall. Deep down, all of us fans are the same. Even you." Another fan wrote, "That's awesome! I hope you remember how you felt when people meet and say the same thing to you... what an honor." One more fan said, "So happy for Alan! Loved hearing your story."

Dierks Bentley celebrates his 44th birthday today (11/20). Not only is he a major country star, he just opened yet another of his clubs called Whiskey Row in Colorado and he's also his own pilot flying himself from show to show as he tours.