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Brooks & Dunn Exhibit Coming To The Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum

‘Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon’ opens August 9.

Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

July 16, 2019

9:34 am

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn; Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images

The iconic career of Brooks & Dunn will soon be highlighted in an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Country Music Hall of Fame members-elect will be the stars of the exhibition Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon, opening August 9, 2019, and running through July 19, 2020. The exhibit will highlight Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn’s early solo careers, tell the story of what brought them together as a duo and highlight their career as the best-selling country duo of all time.

“The combined talents of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn have left an indelible mark on country music history. For nearly three decades, the duo’s skillful songwriting, dynamic recordings and rowdy performances have made Brooks & Dunn an enduring success with lasting influence on the genre and its contemporary hit-makers,” said Kyle Young, CEO, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “The museum looks forward to exploring the journey of two struggling solo artists brought together by fate and creative vision to become country music’s best-selling duo of all time.”

After Arista Records executive Tim DuBois paired Kix and Ronnie together, Brooks & Dunn exploded onto the country music scene with their 1991 debut album, Brand New Man. They went on to earn four consecutive chart-topping singles from that album and sold over three million copies in their first year. The duo’s success continued for many years. By the time they announced a hiatus in 2010, they earned 41 top 10 singles, sold 26 million records and won countless awards, including two Grammys, 19 CMA Awards and 24 ACM Awards. They returned to the scene in 2014 with a Las Vegas residency with their longtime friend and frequent collaborator Reba McEntire.

Earlier this year, Brooks & Dunn turned heads with the release of Reboot, an album full of collaborations with some of today’s hottest country music stars. Teaming up with artists such as Luke Combs, Ashley McBryde and Brett Young, the duo re-recorded some of their biggest hits with a contemporary twist. The album debuted atop Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and earned them their 10th Billboard 200 Top 10 album.

“It’s so cool to have an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” Dunn shared in a release. “When you’re reminded that what you have created is part of history like that, it’s beyond humbling. I’m so, so proud.”

“Ronnie and I are really fired up about having an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” added Brooks. “We’ve shared some of our favorite things with the museum over the years, and it’s going to be really special for us to revisit those moments from our career, especially in a format like the Hall that reaches all generations of fans.”

According to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the exhibition will include the following items:

Dozens of awards presented to Brooks & Dunn between 1992 and 2006, including Grammys, CMA and ACM awards
Neon Circus & Wild West Show-themed Les Paul electric guitar, built for Brooks by the Gibson Custom Shop’s Master Luthier, Bruce Kunkel, in 2001. The instrument features rope-shaped binding and ornamentation; a hand-carved and painted cowgirl on the lower bout; carved volume and tone knobs in the shape of horned toads; mother-of-pearl cowgirl inlays on the fingerboard and headstock and a sterling silver pickguard engraved, “Brooks & Dunn, Neon Circus and Wild West Show”
Red cowboy boots decorated with steer’s head inlays, worn by Dunn when he was around five years old
Hand-tooled leather guitar strap made for Brooks by Hutch’s Custom Saddlery and embellished with oak leaf and acorn imagery and the names of Brooks’ wife, Barb, and their children, Molly and Eric
“Neon Moon”-themed archtop electric guitar with custom blue finish and crescent moon inlay, presented to Dunn in 2001 by the Gibson Custom Shop
Racing suits with steer’s head logos, worn by Brooks and Dunn when they drove 5/8th-scale Legends race cars in the 1990s
Early draft lyrics to “Red Dirt Road,” written by Dunn

To celebrate the opening of Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon, the duo and their longtime manager will participate in a public interview at the CMA Theater inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Tickets, which include museum admission, will be available here, beginning Friday, July 19, 2019, at 10 a.m. CT.

This spring, the Country Music Association announced that Brooks & Dunn were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The duo will officially be inducted in October.

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.