Dierks Bentley has been out on the road this summer with some very special guests, and he says everything is really clicking on his current tour.

The 38-year-old recently released a new album, 'Riser,' and he brought the show to opening night of the 2014 Taste of Country Music Festival at Hunter Mountain in New York. Backstage before taking the stage, Bentley spoke enthusiastically about the Riser Tour, which features special guests Jon Pardi, Chase Rice and Chris Young.

"I just love it, man; it's the best summer of my life," Bentley tells Taste of Country's Billy Dukes. "Just getting out there and getting a chance to be in that Kenny Chesney role . . . you know, where you've got the younger guys underneath you, and you get the chance to kind of show them how you do the road, and try to be as accommodating, and make sure they're having a great time and they're having fun out there -- I just love being in that position."

Bentley enjoys sharing his experience with the younger artists on his tour, but he is also energized by them.

"I want them to go out there and try to kick my butt every night," he says. "The more they do that, the more I'm going to go out there and come out swinging, and try to make sure that I keep the top spot."

The tour recently landed at the top of Taste of Country's Hot Summer Tours 2014, and Bentley says it feels like all of the pieces are coming together for him right now.

"It's crazy, it feels really good . . .the single's like No. 2 [on iTunes], and the album's No. 5, the video's No. 2," he relates. "It's been awhile since everything kinda lined up like that, and with the tour happening, it's been a really great year."

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