When then-Arista label head Tim DuBois paired up Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn 20 years ago, the duo was skeptical about being partners for long. Fast-forward to 2010 and the legendary country duo Brooks & Dunn recently embarked on their final road trip, the Last Rodeo Tour. Brooks & Dunn performed the first night of their current tour in Marysville, Calif. on April 23, the same day that Kix Brooks spoke to The Boot about his initial skepticism that he and Ronnie Dunn would remain partners for long.

“The thought of having a 20 year career with this guy was impossible. There was no chance that was going to happen! The chance that we might get a record deal and might get to go record some songs, and possibly have some success, that’s kind of what I was thinking of as a best case scenario,” Kix recalled to The Boot. Boy was he wrong!

Last summer, Brooks & Dunn shocked the country music community when they announced plans to go their separate ways after 20 years together as an award-winning duo. Brooks & Dunn said that they decided to dissolve their professional relationship because it was simply “time to do something different,” while Ronnie added, “We’ve had a good ride. It’s been amicable. We’ve been good friends [and] still are.” Brooks & Dunn are definitely going out with a bang, though.

The Last Rodeo Tour will see the group making stops in cities like Tacoma, Wash.; Vancouver, B.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Las Cruces, N.M.; Tulsa, Okla.; Dallas, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Hartford, Conn.; Clarkston, Mich. and more before performing their last show together in the country music capital of Nashville on Aug. 10.

Fans can get Brooks & Dunn tickets to see the duo and openers (on select dates) Jason Aldean and Gary Allan this summer online. Dunn recently chatted with The Boot about the pros and cons of being one-half of a duo as opposed to a solo artist, saying, “I think it’s been an asset in many ways, especially in the early years, to be able to play off of each other. Just from exhaustion on tour and walking on stage and pulling one another through it and being cheerleaders for one another all along through the process, through songwriting and everything else, I think it helped.” Brooks chimed in, “I think you’re right. Everybody does seem to have a buddy.”

Brooks & Dunn’s buddy system has certainly paid off, as the duo was named Top Vocal Duo if the Year at the recent Academy of Country Music Awards. After exclaiming, “Thank you so much! What an amazing 20 years we’ve had, thanks to y’all. We really appreciate it,” Brooks joked, “We’re currently in therapy with Brett Favre, figuring out how to waffle on this. It’s very touchy, very difficult, very sensitive.” No prescription cialis

Dunn also stepped up to the mic, saying in acceptance of the honor, “There are way too many people for me to thank, and I know Ronnie feels the same way. The fans of country music, we’re going to be out there all this year saying thank you. We hope you’ll come party with us, because you’ve given us the dreamt that every musician dreams of. Thank you so much, this has been an amazing, dream experience.”

In addition to their ACM Awards honor, Brooks & Dunn were honored with ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn-The Last Rodeo. The television concert was filmed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 19 and aired on CBS on May 23. Pollstar.com reports that Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney and George Strait were among the artists that surprised the duo with renditions of their hit songs during the taping of the special. 20-year-old country sensation Taylor Swift was also on hand, joking, “20 years, to me that’s like a lifetime.” The star-studded night saw country stars reminiscing about Brooks & Dunn’s legendary career and was capped off with an all-star rendition of “Play Something Country” after the duo received the ACM Milestone Award.

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Category: Music
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