Brooks & Dunn have been making great country music for decades. In 2019, they invited some of the brightest young stars in country music to reimagine some of their biggest hits on the collaborative album Reboot. Later this month, they’ll release Reboot 2 with a list of new artists including Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Halestorm, and many more.
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Ahead of the album’s release, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks sat down with American Songwriter’s Cindy Watts to talk about the new album and much more. During the conversation, they gave their honest opinions on Jelly Roll and other artists who have crossed over into country music from other genres.
Brooks & Dunn Give Their Opinion on Jelly Roll
“Everybody out there has an opinion,” Ronnie Dunn said when asked about Jelly Roll and other artists coming into country music and taking the genre to new places. “I don’t see the negative dynamic to it. Let other people make those statements. I’m going to come at it as an artist and a creative type. At the same time, I grew up in West Texas and Oklahoma. There’s rock music out there, too, and different slants on what country should be,” he explained. “Let it eat. It’s all going to come back,” he added.
“Fans change because fans get older and young fans come in,” Kix Brooks said. “That’s always been the way that this wheel turns. And, fans have always said this about people who are throwing rocks at some artist that is not classic, hasn’t been here forever, artists today that may have their start on TikTok or whatever. It’s like, ‘Stop throwing rocks. We have millions of fans out there. Let them decide,” he added.
Brooks agreed with Dunn’s statement, adding, “Let the marketplace decide.”
“They may like a song, they may give that artist a shot,” Brooks said about fans reacting to new artists. “If there’s longevity or a career there, the fans are going to decide. They can smell a gimmick is what I’m trying to say,” he explained. “If this is something we can get at the fair, it’s probably not a career. It may be a big ol’ hit. It may be two big hits. We’ve all seen those artists come and go, for the most part.”
Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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