Brooks & Dunn won the CMA Award for Vocal Duo of the Year, for the first time in 18 years. Brooks & Dunn shared the category with Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Maddie & Tae and The War And Treaty.
“What a weird business, right?” Ronnie Dunn said from the stage. “I love it. And right now I really like it.”
“There’s a famous quote that says ‘Time is undefeated,'” added Kix Brooks. “Thank you. Wow. Wow.”
Backstage, both men expressed their surprise at winning Vocal Duo of the Year, 33 years after their debut Brand New Album was released.
“I do feel like we have had a lot of years where we just kind of toured and had made music, and we really did,” Brooks said. “We kind of hunkered down on our REBOOT album a couple of years ago and really got back to touring seriously, and spent a lot of time putting production together and stuff. We worked hard at it. And of course with our new album out, REBOOT 2, we really remembered what it’s like to work … and what it really takes to make the wheels turn again. So to not be recognized would be understandable at this point in our career. But to be recognized tonight sounds cliché, but it feels really good.”
For Brooks & Dunn, winning the Vocal Duo of the Year after almost two decades is a massive validation, and one that they never expected.
“People used to ask us years ago, at the very beginning, “What do you want at the end of the day? What do you think is going to sustain you, or what do you want people to remember you by? ‘And it’s the music,” Dunn said. “We would always say that. And the same thing, I guess. Obviously, I guess it still holds true. Just doing this REBOOT record and watching all these 18 artists come up and do what they do, and do different interpretations of what we did before and have it actually kind of stand up, I think when I say that selfishly, it’s just a tribute to the music, not us.”
Few artists in country music have had the resurgence that Brooks & Dunn have had, a fact that they both attribute to their music more than their own talents.
“It’s just back to the back to the music,” Dunn said. “This business is going to go through stages, and is going to go through cycles. A lot of people are going to like it. Some people, they’re not going to like it. Just stay true to what you do. If you’re in the music business, if you’re in it to make music, make your music. And let’s just see what happens.”
REBOOT 2 features artists like Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen, Mitchell Tenpenny, HARDY, Riley Green and more, joining Brooks & Dunn on some of their biggest hits. Find the record, and all of Brooks & Dunn’s music and upcoming shows at brooks-dunn.com.