C2C festival just wrapped up this past weekend, bringing some of the States’ greatest country acts over the pond with three stops in London, Glasgow, and Belfast.
The UK fans did not disappoint with high energy surrounding some unforgettable performances from headliners Zach Top, Keith Urban, and Brooks & Dunn. The latter legendary 90s country duo closed out each night, marking their first UK performance since 2010.
It was only fitting that while on their overseas travels, they had to cheers with a proper British celebration at a pub. Luckily, the ladies from the Girls In Low Places Podcast provided the “Neon Moon” hit makers with some uniquely English drinks at their makeshift tavern backstage from the festival.
While sipping on their bright blue WKD British beverages, host Katie Atkin asked the fitting question, “What is your pub karaoke song?” Brooks instantly recalled a hilarious memory from the duo’s early days of fame, responding, “I wanted to show Ronnie New Orleans where I played, you know, and he’s telling me all about his bars where he grew up cause we just you know we met on Tuesday and wrote our first town hits the same week. So we didn’t know each other from Adam.”
As the story goes, solo artist Kix Brooks from Louisiana was paired with Texas native Ronnie Dunn in 1990 thanks to a push from Arista Records executive Tim Dubois. Despite their reluctance at first, they took a swing as writing partners and sure enough, their first single “Brand New Man” was born, followed by 11 studio albums, 20 number one hits, and a long-lasting career that defined them as one of the biggest acts in country music.
Of course, with the timid start to their relationship, what better way to bond than getting drunk together and frolicking around New Orleans? Dunn continued saying, “We did about 24 jello shots and literally cause it was an item, they were 25 cents. So we wind up going down to my favorite Dixie Land Jazz Club in New Orleans, which is now a country karaoke bar.”
“We pushed through this crowd, and they put ‘Brand New Man’ on the thing, and we jumped on it, and man, we were just killing it, and it was just awesome. We kind of looked and smiled at each other, and one of the only times we’ve ever done that in our entire career.” With Brooks snarkily adding, “First and last.”
Following the performance, the Louisiana crowd was obviously hyping up the rising stars, giving them some well-deserved drunken kudos: “We jumped off stage, and people are patting me on the back asking for autographs.” Then, with his best southern gumbo accent, he imitates, “This lady behind me goes, ‘Do you know, they look just like them, but they don’t sing worth a sh** do they?'”
According to the two now 70-year-old singer-songwriters, that was their first and LAST karaoke experience. Understandably, though, singing for free probably wasn’t on their radar, considering they had a long 35+ year career ahead of them, where they were continuously selling out venues and bringing their karaoke chops to a much more grandiose level (minus their hiatus split from 2009-2015, of course).
C2C was just the start for Brooks & Dunn as they prepare for another busy year ahead with their Neon Moon Tour extending into 2026. The two will spend about a month together on the road, starting on September 10 in Evansville, Indiana, joined by supporting acts Tucker Wetmore, David Lee Murphy, Willow Avalon, Katilin Butts, and more.
Tour Dates:
- 9/10 – Evansville, IN – Ford Center * #
- 9/11 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre * #
- 9/12 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena * #
- 9/17 – Toledo, OH – The Huntington Center ^ !
- 9/18 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum ^ !
- 9/19 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center ^ !
- 9/24 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre ^ ~
- 9/25 – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater ^ ~
- 9/26 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center ^ ~
- 10/1 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center * <
- 10/2 – Kansas City, MO – Morton Amphitheater ^ <
- 10/3 – Moline, IL – Vibrant Arena ^ <
- 10/8 – Lafayette, LA – Cajundome * #
- 10/9 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena * #
* with Tucker Wetmore
^ with David Lee Murphy
# Caylee Hammack
~ Willow Avalon
! Kaitlin Butts
< Angie K