Country Music Hall of Fame And Museum To Open Brooks & Dunn Exhibit In August

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will honor Country Music Hall of Fame members-elect Brooks & Dunn with a new exhibition set to open Aug 9.

Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon will chronicle the duo’s early solo careers, how they came together to form Brooks & Dunn, their record-breaking awards wins, 20 No. 1 hits, and their electrifying approach to touring. The exhibit will run through July 19, 2020.

Items featured in Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon include:

• 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

“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.”

“It’s so cool to have an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” said Dunn. “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.”

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at [email protected].

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