Kix Brooks Details Latest ‘Reboot’ Of Brooks & Dunn Classics & Reaching New Audiences [Interview]

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Brooks & Dunn. Photo: Matthew Berinato

The celebrated work of Brooks & Dunn has sparked inspiration in country creators for decades. Their tunes have transcended generations and continue to reach new audiences, as they were crowned Vocal Duo of the Year at the 58th CMA Awards on Wednesday (Nov. 20).

The honor, which led the pair and Chris Stapleton to tie for the most CMA Award wins of all time with 19 total each, came just after the release of their Reboot II collection, the sequel to 2019’s Reboot album, via Sony Music Nashville.

Reboot II follows the same format as the first project, but features collaborations with a new, genre-spanning group of acts, including Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen, Marcus King Band, Megan Moroney, Jelly Roll, The Cadillac Three, Halestorm, The Earls of Leicester, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Hardy, A Thousand Horses and more. The Country Music Hall of Famers let each artist choose the Brooks & Dunn number they’d like to lead on the 18-track collection, and gave them the space to put their own spin on it. Kix Brooks recently took some time to discuss the development of Reboot II with MusicRow.

He recalls their manager, Clarence Spalding, coming to them with the idea for the original Reboot project when artists like Luke Combs and Kacey Musgraves began covering their hits during their live shows. After reaching out to various teams, Spalding returned with an extensive list of interested acts.

“It was one of the most enjoyable experiences we ever had in the studio. Dann Huff is a great traffic cop and a brilliant producer,” states Brooks. “All o these acts are really good, and some of them tell us that they’re fans and have been listening to our music for long time, which makes you feel good. But there’s never any real fanboy/fangirl stuff going on, just professionals that are really good at what they do.”

After seeing the success of the initial album, Spalding and the duo decided to curate a sequel, this time expanding to other genres and allowing the collaborators to bring their own producers and bands. Brooks describes the selections that surprised him and how impressed he was with everyone.

“This was a really different experience. Some of these songs are deep cuts, and it’s really fun doing stuff we play live and rock out hard to with our Brooks & Dunn band like ‘She Like to Get Out of Town,'” he notes.

“I wanted Jaren [Johnston] on this record because I just love The Cadillac Three, and sure enough, they showed up and picked that song,” Brooks says. “I was looking forward to seeing how they were going to sling it and man, he kicked off this deep swamp groove. I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. I freaking love this,’ and grabbed a harp and jumped all over it with him. We had a lot of fun doing that one.”

A reimagined “Play Something Country” with Lainey Wilson opens the new body of work. As a fellow Louisiana native, Brooks says he’s been hearing about the CMA Female Vocal of the Year for a decade now and truly enjoyed working with her.

“She made a pair of bell bottoms out of that flame shirt that I wore on the Hardworking Man album cover, which was just hysterical,” he reflects. “She came in with so much energy and lit it up.”

When it comes to uniquely different takes, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” with rock group Halestorm comes to mind.

“Halestorm is a badass, headbanging rock band. Once they tuned their stuff up and hit the downbeat, it was on. That control room just exploded,” Brooks shares with a laugh. “Engineers were grabbing nobs with both hands trying to get a handle on what was going on. I’m really proud of Ronnie [Dunn]. He stepped up and went toe to toe with [Lizzy Hale]. Singing backgrounds was easy compared to what he was up to.”

Brooks shares that he could talk for hours about how fun each collaboration was, as well as what they learned from the creation process.

“We don’t feel like we’re the old guys on the block, we’re all doing the same thing. We’ve been doing it a few years longer, but that doesn’t change anything,” says Brooks. “Some of these acts that are really hot on this record aren’t posturing because they’re the hottest thing out there right now. The bottom line is we’re all just trying to make good music, and there’s a reason that these acts are popular. It does make you step up because you want to be your best and show them that you’ve still got it, and they want to do their best and show you they do have it.”

He continues, “I didn’t feel any ego ever, and you’d expect me to say that, but that’s the truth. Everybody just came in and said, ‘Let’s make a record, let’s do this.’ It gets fun pretty quick. It’s our job to make people feel comfortable in a situation like this, and there’s no reason that they shouldn’t feel comfortable because we really respect all the acts that are on this record.”

Through these collaborations and their storied career, Brooks & Dunn have amassed new fans, who are sure to come see them perform live when the pair embarks on their “Neon Moon Tour” this spring.

“One night last year, I was just looking at the crowd and it just looked so young, so I asked, ‘How many of y’all are at your first Brooks & Dunn show?’ Almost 70% of that crowd put their hands in the air,” Brooks recalls. “I said, ‘Wow, welcome to the party,’ and ask that every night now.

“It’s fun to think that there’s an audience out there that’s just now getting familiar with our music and hearing us play for the first time.”

Reboot II Track Listing:
1. “Play Something Country” with Lainey Wilson
2. “Neon Moon” with Morgan Wallen
3. “Rock My World (Little Country Girl)” with Marcus King Band
4. “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” with Megan Moroney
5. “Brand New Man” with Warren Zeiders
6. “Believe” with Jelly Roll
7. “She Used to Be Mine” with Riley Green
8. “She Likes to Get Out of Town” with The Cadillac Three
9. “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” with Halestorm
10. “Ain’t No Way To Go” with Mitchell Tenpenny
11. “How Long Gone” with The Earls of Leicester
12. “I’ll Never Forgive My Heart” with Jake Worthington
13. “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind” with Hailey Whitters
14. “Hard Workin’ Man” with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
15. “Hillbilly Deluxe” with Hardy
16. “Indian Summer” with Ernest
17. “Drop in the Bucket” with A Thousand Horses
18. “Only In America” with Corey Kent

Liza Anderson
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