Brooks & Dunn are all the way back.
The legendary country music duo of Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks are fresh off of the release of their Reboot II album, which helped them bring home the 2024 CMA Vocal Duo of the Year award. It was the 15th time they’ve been honored with the title, and now ties them with the most CMA Awards ever at 19 total wins.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Kix was asked if their CMA Award helped Brooks & Dunn refocus and become motivated to give country music fans new music. Brooks answered by saying that the accolade certainly didn’t hurt, but there were other factors that came into play to inspire new music:
“It’s not that I felt like I ever lost focus on Brooks & Dunn, but it is a good point in my life, especially if we are going to make new music. That’s a little deeper commitment in terms of creative focus and really getting your head in the game and seeing if we can come up with something good.”
I’m really honed in on that “if we are going to make new music” part.
Another reason why now might be the right time for Brooks & Dunn to get back into the studio with some new, original songs is that Kix is stepping away from hosting American Country Countdown – a position he’s held on the weekly radio show since 2006. That’s naturally going to provide some more time for Kix to be a singer/songwriter instead of an interviewer.
Kix also pointed out that touring has been very successful as of late, and though it has taken up a lot of time, it’s let Brooks & Dunn know that their fanbase is still out there – and growing. That comfort zone has evidently led to Ronnie and Kix exploring the idea of new music. And at one point, Billboard straight up asked Kix if fans could expect new music in the next two years from the duo that brought such country classic hits as “My Maria” and “Neon Moon.”
Here’s what he had to say about the chances of that happening:
“I’d say pretty good… I’m sure Ronnie’s got his own idea of how that could work. But I know he’s been writing a lot of songs. He’s sending me songs all the time. Ronnie’s fired up about getting into that. And I’m certainly not going to hold him back, and I will do my best to keep up and do my part.”
COME ON WITH IT.
Kix seems to be excited about working on new music with his longtime music partner, Ronnie Dunn. However, he wants country music fans to temper their expectations a bit. Why? Because Kix and Ronnie have tempered their own.
I’m sure they are going to get back into the studio and craft another spectacular album, but they aren’t chasing that “number one record” goal like they did in their younger days:
“Ronnie and I, we don’t have any honest expectations of having a No. 1 record, any more than probably George Strait or Garth or Reba or (whoever else). We’re not necessarily making music now to try and fight our way up to No. 1.”
Then again, they just won the Vocal Duo of the Year at the CMA Awards. You never know what can happen…
