Dierks Bentley has Kenny Chesney to blame, or thank, for his one pre-show ritual. Before meeting Chesney, Bentley was unaware of the pros — and cons — of Red Bull. But now, thanks to Chesney, Bentley drinks it almost every time before he takes the stage.

“Before Chesney, it was whiskey, and then Kenny turned me on to Red Bull and Malibu. Ugh!” Bentley recalls to Audacy.

“I’d never had Red Bull in my life before I met Kenny Chesney. It’s like a dog whistle,” he continues. “If I drink a Red Bull now, I’m immediately ready to go on stage. Like, ‘Where’s my guitar? Where’s the stage? Must go play show. Must play music.’ I don’t even touch that stuff away from the show because it messes with my mind … Kenny ruined me; once you have one taste of that, it gets you right ready to go on stage.”

Bentley will need his Red Bull later this year. The Arizona native just announced his Broken Branches Tour, kicking off on May 29 in Austin, Texas. Zach Top will join him for all dates, with perhaps Bentley passing along his love of Red Bull to the rising star.

“I’m 20(ish) years into doing this, and I’ve seriously never been more excited about a tour,” Bentley says. “We had Zach out for a few shows last summer, and I knew right away that we had to do more together. He loves the same kind of country music I do, and he’s got the bluegrass chops to hang with the best of ‘em in a jam. I’ve got a million ideas for the set list rolling around in my head. It’ll be fun to figure out how to make it all come to life with a new album and new production.”

Bentley has a Top 30 hit with “She Hates Me.” The father of three wrote the song with Ashley Gorley, Ross Copperman and Chase McGill, releasing it on Valentine’s Day.

“We didn’t plan on this happening, but I played it for my kids, and they loved the song,” Bentley says on Country Countdown USA. “We went in and recorded it, and had “so much fun in the studio. This song rose to the top, and it’s sort of the anti-Valentine’s Day song.”

The country music hitmaker has released dozens of videos over the past couple of decades, but says “She Hates Me” is likely the most costly.

“It had to be expensive,” Bentley admits. “We took over a house, and proceeded to destroy everything in the house. Complete destruction, and that was just the house. It’s been a while since I did the acting thing in a video. It was a 15-hour day, and it turned out really great.”

Find “She Hates Me” and all of Bentley’s music and upcoming shows at Dierks.com.