Country Update Features

BROOKS & DUNN DEAL

IF you’re into country music and haven’t heard of Brooks & Dunn, you must have been
living under a rock. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn ARE the biggest country music duo on
this planet, selling more than 30 million albums world wide.

Now after 17 years together, they have finally announced they will be heading Downunder
for their first Australian tour and the news has sent the Aussie country music scene into
a frenzy.

Originally planned for just three shows, promoters have had to expand the concert schedule
after Brooks & Dunn’s first show at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday, February
29 2008 sold out in just one hour – unheard of in Australian country music history.

A second show has been scheduled for Saturday, March 30 2008 with shows also planned for Melbourne at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, March 5 and in Sydney at the Acer Arena on Monday, March 10.

Responsible for 23 number one hits, Brooks & Dunn are a country music institution, setting new records for the number of awards they have won, the hits they have had and the tickets they have sold to their impressive concerts. Armed with their 13th album, Cowboy Town, the ‘dynamic duo’ are heading to our shores with a stage show which will set new standards in presentation.

Already in America this year, their tour with Alan Jackson has been one of the hottest ticket items of the US summer, and with a reputation for delivering ‘big productions’, it’s no wonder they have created so much interest in Australia.

Cowboy Town features 12 new tracks on an album which Ronnie Dunn described as “the Stones meeting the cowboys. The stuff we are doing today is inspired by the Rolling Stones – it was the stuff we were listening to growing up,” Ronnie said recently. “We were trying to make a record that’s fun, that you can party to.”

With that in mind, it’s no surprise Cowboy Town features a majority of upbeat and in-your-face country tracks and only one ballad – the last track, ‘God Must Be Busy’.

The success of the duo is amazing when you consider that both Kix and Ronnie came from completely different backgrounds and only came together when they both found themselves in Nashville in 1990.

It was Arista Records’ Tim DuBois who was largely responsible for the two artists coming together that year and 12 months later, they released their debut album, Brand New Man.

It was also the title of their first single which, incidentally was their first number one and that was soon followed by chart-toppers, ‘My Next Broken Heart’, ‘Neon Moon’ and ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ which became an anthem for line dancers around the world.

The album has since sold more than six million copies.

More No 1#s were to follow off subsequent albums with hits ‘She Used to Be Mine’, ‘That Ain’t No Way to Go’, ‘She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind’, ‘Little Miss Honky Tonk’ and ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone’.
In 1996, their remake of ‘My Maria’ stayed at number one for three weeks and in that year, they won the CMA Entertainer Of The Year award.

From there it has been a steady procession of hits and awards though their 1999 album, Tight Rope, didn’t match the lofty heights of previous releases.

That only spurred the duo on and in 2001 they released Steers and Stripes which yielded the smash hit, ‘Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You’ which spent six weeks at number one on the US country charts.

The follow-up, ‘Only in America’ became a rallying cry after the September 11 terrorist attacks and still remains part of their playlist at concerts across the States.

More albums have followed with Red Dirt Road in 2003, seeing the title track going to number one and the single ‘It’s Getting Better All The Time’ off Greatest Hits Collection II in 2004 also reaching the top spot. Brooks & Dunn should be given a medal for consistency with Hillbilly Deluxe hitting the market in 2005.

This album delivered the hits ‘Play Something Country’ and the powerful ballad ‘Believe’ winning the duo CMA awards for Song Of The Year and Single Of The Year.

They also picked up CMA Duo Of The Year, an award they seem to have a mortgage on.

Now, with Cowboy Town, they have already had another chart topper with the single ‘Proud Of The House We Built’ which is also climbing the Australia charts.

Australians have shown the music of Brooks & Dunn ‘’does it’’ for them, a condition Ronnie believes is universal.
“Country is the music of the working man and it encompasses a broad spectrum of social consciousness not limited to any one country,” he said.

“We try not to be overly political or biased – our obligation is to sing music and entertain people.”
In the States, their previous Neon Circus and Wild West Tours are legendary, not only in terms of production but who they have had share the bill with them.

The duo has also used their tours to give up-and-coming artists an opportunity to perform in front of huge crowds.

Such artists include Keith Urban, and more recently Catherine Britt who will be one of the support acts for their two Brisbane shows next year.

For men who have achieved everything in country music both remain fairly down to earth about their success.

“It’s been a dream but I don’t think it’s changed us a whole lot,” Kix said. “Our ambitions are still pretty much the same, making the best music we can, staying successful and trying to matter to people. To think we’re still doing it 17 years down the road – it seems like yesterday.”

Ronnie had a slightly different take on it being a dream come true –“I don’t think we’ve woke yet!”

The dream is coming true for thousands of Brooks & Dunn’s Australian fans who are counting down the days until one of the biggest country music acts to tour in recent years touches down.

When they do, you can bet they’ll be turning our east coast capitals in cowboy towns - bring it on!