Not only will Brooks & Dunn be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this fall, but the best-selling country duo of all time is also the subject of a brand-new exhibit at the CMHOF.
Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon highlights Kix and Ronnie’s early careers as solo artists and songwriters, the circumstances that united them as performers, and their innovative approach to stage production and touring.
Ronnie and Kix welcomed family, friends and industry insiders to the grand opening of the exhibit on Aug. 8.
“It’s so cool to have an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” says Ronnie. “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,” adds Kix. “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.”
Awards, custom-built instruments and personal artifacts are featured in Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon, including:
- 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
- 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
Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon opens Aug. 9 and runs through July 19, 2020.
Take a look inside the exhibit, courtesy of photographer Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com.
