Dierks Bentley Leads a Bluegrass-Flavored CMAs Tom Petty Tribute

Dierks Bentley rounded up some of the biggest stars in bluegrass for a one-of-a-kind tribute to the late Tom Petty at the 2024 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 20).

Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes took the stage with Bentley for the performance.

The group performed Petty’s classic 1977 hit “American Girl,” showcasing the late singer-songwriter’s sprawling influence across all kinds of genres — not just the rock stylings he’s best known for.

The foursome not only played the strings, they harmonized effortlessly together. It put a fresh, new spin on a song is very well known in its original form.

Over the course of his career, Petty rose to fame both as a successful solo artist and as the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. In addition to “American Girl,” he was known for a bevy of hits including “Free Falling,” “The Waiting,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “I Won’t Back Down” and many others. He died in 2017 at the age of 66.

Bentley’s love of bluegrass has been a component of musical output for his entire country music career, and in 2010, he released a full bluegrass album called Up on the Ridge.

Tuttle is a guitarist and singer-songwriter who is a mainstay in the bluegrass and Americana fields. She has won several awards at the IBMAs and the Americana Music Awards, and in January, she won Best Bluegrass Album for her project City of Gold.

Hull is a virtuosic mandolin player and singer-songwriter who has won the IBMA’s Mandolin Player of the Year Award five times since 2016. She has released multiple albums co-produced by Alison Krauss, and she appears as an instrumentalist on Sturgill Simpson‘s 2020 Cuttin’ Grass album.

Keith-Hynes is a renowned bluegrass fiddler. Her latest release, I Built a World, was recently nominated for Best Bluegrass Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

The CMA Awards aired live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on ABC. Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning co-hosted the show.

*Remember: The best way to watch the CMA Awards is on ABC with ToC on your phone.