Brooks & Dunn recently announced that they will be returning to arenas for the first time in over a decade on their REBOOT 2022 Tour. The trek’s star-studded lineup includes special guests Jon Pardi, Walker Hayes, Jordan Davis, Gabby Barrett, Riley Green and more.
“Everybody that’s going to be on this tour for a couple of nights here and three nights there, they’re all legit,” the duo told Music Mayhem and several other media outlets. “Looking forward to seeing them on a big stage.”
While the duo is excited about all the musical acts who will be joining them on the tour, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn gave a special nod to one artist in particular, who has seen great success this year – “Fancy Like” singer, Walker Hayes.
“He’s got a big ol’ hit,” Brooks said of Hayes. “He’s really got some depth as a songwriter, he’s a real artist. [“Fancy Like”] is one of those songs that you hope it’s not so novel that people are going to write him off for it eventually, once it gets done being his hit… he’s been banging on it for a long time, the guy’s really paid his dues so I hope he does good.”
Although music has been a part of the “AA” singer’s life for many years, it took over a decade for Hayes to get his big break in the music industry. He saw a few hits throughout his career, but nothing was as impactful as his chart-topping hit, “Fancy Like.” The viral hitmaker quickly saw his catchy single blow up on TikTok, after sharing videos of himself dancing with his family members, most notably his oldest daughter, Lela.
The song, off his recently released project, Country Stuff the Album, has earned Hayes a great deal of recognition. He earned his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, starred in an Applebee’s commercial, performed at the NFL’s AFC Championship in January, earned a GRAMMY nomination and a nod at the 2022 ACM Awards. He also has performed the buzzed about anthem on a countless number of televised shows, including a recent performance at the 57th Academy Of Country Music Awards.
Following Hayes’ massive headlining tour, the Alabama native will join Brooks & Dunn, who’ve also had a recent taste of becoming viral sensations on TikTok with their ’90s hit “Neon Moon,” on their REBOOT Tour.
“Neon Moon” is not a new song, in fact it was released 30 years ago on their 1992 debut album, Brand New Man. However, the tune has never lost its spark among the award-winning duo’s fan base, and with its resurgence on TikTok, a new generation is getting to experience and fall in love with it.
“We didn’t know where it came from at first. And finally we tracked down the guy and it was surreal,” Dunn explained.
Of course, Brooks & Dunn had to try out the dance that had so many people posting about their song again. Before walking on stage to perform, the duo busted out some dance moves in a TikTok that currently sits at 11.8 million views.
@brooksanddunn It’s crazy cool to see all your videos, keep ‘em coming ! #brooksanddunn #sungoesdown #neonmoon #neonmoonremix #countrymusic
“Ronnie texted me from his bus one night…and he tells me that there’s like three million hits at that point or something,” Brooks stated. “And label says if we would do this dance, that it’s going to blow out up. He goes, ‘what do you think?’ I said, ‘I ain’t doing that dance. That ain’t gonna frickin’ happen.’ It really wasn’t until I looked and saw that a seal down there in aqua world and a raccoon were doing the dance that I went okay, this is really freaking cool, we should do some resemblance of this. So walking on stage we kind of waved at it one night.”
During an interview with CMT, Dunn reacted to several artists and celebrities doing the “Neon Moon” dance trend. Among the dancers were Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini, Tyndall Brothers, Kaitlyn Bristowe and more.
“Kelsea’s a good dancer,” Dunn commented.
“Kaitlyn’s looking good right off the bat, she’s got her high top white tennis shoes on, good team effort,” he said while watching Bristowe and her group of friends. “Looks like she has a sprained ankle, it’s probably for doing the dance too long. I hope we don’t get sued for that kind of stuff.”
@cmt #RonnieDunn reacts to the #neonmoon dance craze 😂 🕺 #brooksanddunn #whenthesungoesdown #neonmoonchallenge
While on the red carpet of the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards on Monday (Mar 7), Ballerini along with numerous other country music stars took part in the “Neon Moon” dance challenge including, Thomas Rhett, Priscilla Block, and Walker Hayes, among many others.
@accesshollywood Dancing with the #ACMawards stars under a neon Vegas moon 🌙 #countrymusic #countrytok
The “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” singers will begin their REBOOT 2022 tour on May 5 in Evansville, IN. Hayes will join them for a few days starting on May 12 in Brandon, MS.
