Watch Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan Cover Merle Haggard on ‘The Late Show’
Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night (March 29) to promote the upcoming 2017 ACM Awards, and in addition to spending some time talking with Colbert, the two ACMs co-hosts performed a country classic: Merle Haggard's "Ramblin' Fever."
Readers can press play above to watch Bentley and Bryan perform "Ramblin' Fever," backed by Colbert's house band, Jon Batiste & Stay Human. The song is the title track of Haggard's 25th studio album, released in 1977; it became the album's second single, and reached No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
"We love Merle Haggard ... He's an icon," Bentley explains to Colbert of their song selection. "Haggard was such a diverse -- his sound was so diverse -- a lot of saxophones in his music, and horn instruments, so we're gonna combine our thing with y'all's, with these guys, and see what happens."
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Prior to performing on The Late Show, Colbert interviewed Bryan and Bentley about their 2017 ACM Awards co-hosting duties. Because he'll be hosting the 2017 Emmy Awards, Colbert asked the two country stars for some advice.
"Drinking works, beforehand -- yeah, lots," Bentley quipped, noting that, at the ACMs, there's a full bar backstage, so "[w]e think we sound great, regardless ..."
Added Bryan, "We encourage the audience to drink, too. That means that ..."
"If they drink enough, they forget it," Bentley chimed in. "Everyone blacks out, and it's a good night."
The 2017 ACM Awards are set to air live from Las Vegas, Nev., on April 2, on CBS, beginning at 8PM ET. For the first time ever, the show will take place at T-Mobile Arena.
The Boot will be staying up late covering the most buzzed-about winners, fashion and moments at the 2017 ACM Awards. Readers can watch along with us by checking back to TheBoot.com for the latest ACMs headlines, liking The Boot on Facebook and following The Boot on Twitter.
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