Elle King talks co-hosting CMA Fest with Dierks Bentley: “Nothing we do feels like work”

ABC/Robby Klein

CMA Fest 2022 may be over, but the fun’s just beginning for Elle King and Dierks Bentley, who are co-hosting ABC’s upcoming CMA Fest television special.

The show, which will revisit some of the festival’s best and most exciting performances, gets an extra boost from Dierks and Elle’s fun, easygoing onscreen dynamic. Their chemistry comes from a real-life friendship, Elle explains, which developed over collaborations like 2016’s “Different for Girls” and this year’s new duet, “Worth a Shot.”

“I mean, anything that Dierks and I do together is fun and funny, because we’re just kind of, in the nicest way, idiots. In the best way,” Elle says with a laugh.

For a first-hand look at that goofiness she’s talking about, check out the music video for “Worth a Shot,” where they star as a couple on the rocks in the Wild Wild West. Even though the song’s subject matter is serious, Dierks and Elle’s playful friendship shines through, and it’ll be even more front-and-center when they take the stage for CMA Fest.

“We just make each other laugh. So nothing we do feels like work,” Elle explains.

CMA Fest — which was filmed at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium — airs August 3 on ABC. It’ll be available to watch the next day on Hulu.

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