Over 30 years into their illustrious country music career, GRAMMY Award-winning duo Brooks & Dunn, consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, are continuing to cement their iconic country music legacy with the release of Reboot II today (Nov. 15).
Reinvented Their Timeless Hits With Guests
Said to connect generations of country music fans, Reboot II is a continuation of their 2019 endeavor, Reboot, which brought a variety of country music sensations together to reimagine some Brooks & Dunn classics. Featuring artists like Kacey Musgraves, Brothers Osborne, Cody Johnson, Luke Combs, Kane Brown and more the first time around, Reboot II kicks things up a notch by spanning beyond just the genre.
As far as the creation of Reboot II goes, 18 of today’s top artists — spanning from country to metal to rock and beyond — came together to recreate some of Brooks & Dunn’s best tunes (respectively) from a blank slate, allowing for maximum creative freedom. Said artists are Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen, The Marcus King Band, Megan Moroney, Warren Zeiders, Jelly Roll, Riley Green, The Cadillac Three, Halestorm, Mitchell Tenpenny, The Earls of Leicester, Jake Worthington, Hailey Whitters, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, HARDY, ERNEST, A Thousand Horses and Corey Kent.
“The premise of the project was ‘No rules.’ For this one, we purposely loosened the screws and turned them loose to do whatever they wanted. We actually went way off the rails, in a good way.” Dunn shared in a statement. Brooks added, “This project is a lot more out-of-bounds. Artists were going, ‘Would it be okay if we did this?’ It was like ‘Yeah! Let’s do it.’ We dealt with rock bands and blues bands and all kinds of genres, all over the place.”
Ahead of the release of Reboot II, Brooks & Dunn sat down with Music Mayhem and other media to discuss the album, from how it came to be to some of its most notable tracks.
How Reboot II Came to be
According to the musical duo, their manager, Clarence Spaulding, came up with the concept of the Reboot series, which stemmed from artists like Luke Combs covering “Brand New Man” — and wearing their merchandise onstage — Kacey Musgraves covering “Neon Moon” and more.
Brooks explained, “Clarence said, ‘I think there’s probably a whole album here if you guys want it. There’s a lot of young artists that would really like to cover some of these songs. If you guys want to do it with them… We thought, ‘Well, maybe, I guess. Are they really out there?’ and he came back with a whole list,” ultimately leading to the first Reboot record.
With even more up-and-coming artists today — mentioning Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen, specifically — Spaulding re-approached Brooks & Dunn in 2023, stating that more than 20 artists were interested in being a part of a second Reboot record. “Clarence came up with a great list of artists. They all picked their stuff… You walk in here as an artist, you pick your song, and no one said no,” Brooks continued.
Each Artist Was Given Creative Freedom
Giving each artist the opportunity to choose their own tune this time around was purposeful, as Brooks & Dunn had no intention of influencing each artist’s creative direction. Naturally, this led to some unexpected (yet intriguing) tangents, creating an album that is truly unlike anything we’ve heard before.
Finally coming to be in late 2023, Reboot II — produced by Dann Huff, Joey Moi, Kristian Bush and Jerry Douglas — consisted of a series of one-day studio sessions in Music City, where a different artist entered each day with nothing but their wild ideas and stellar singing skills. Dunn shared in a statement, “It was beyond exciting. We’re spoiled after this… Even as experienced as the producers and musicians are, everyone knew it was special.”
With younger artists sometimes struggling with production — mentioning Warren Zeiders, specifically — as well as artists like The Marcus King Band, A Thousand Horses, Kingfish and more bringing their own bands with them, allegedly showing up with their own arrangements, each studio session was as diverse as can be.
Regardless of how each tune was created, the musical duo ended up with 18 hits — reimagined versions of “Play Something Country,” “Neon Moon,” “Rock My World (Little Country Girl),” “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You,” “Brand New Man,” “Believe,” “She Used to Be Mine,” “She Likes to Get Out of Town,” “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” “That Ain’t No Way to Go,” “How Long Gone,” “I’ll Never Forgive My Heart,” “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind,” “Hard Workin’ Man,” “Hillbilly Deluxe,” “Indian Summer,” “Drop in the Bucket” and “Only in America” — featuring some of the most exciting voices in the industry as of late.
Given the top-notch caliber of each artist, Dunn compared Reboot II to “getting on a horse at the Kentucky Derby and going, ‘I’m favored to win,’” adding that the overall experience was one like no other.
Reboot II Tracklist
Side A
- 1. “Play Something Country” (with Lainey Wilson)
- 2. “Neon Moon” (with Morgan Wallen)
- 3. “Rock My World (Little Country Girl)” (with The Marcus King Band)
- 4. “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” (with Megan Moroney)
Side B
- 1. “Brand New Man” (with Warren Zeiders)
- 2. “Believe” (with Jelly Roll)
- 3. “She Used to Be Mine” (with Riley Green)
- 4. “She Likes to Get Out of Town” (with The Cadillac Three)
- 5. “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” (with Halestorm)
Side C
- 1. “That Ain’t No Way to Go” (with Mitchell Tenpenny)
- 2. “How Long Gone” (with The Earls of Leicester)
- 3. “I’ll Never Forgive My Heart” (with Jake Worthington)
- 4. “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind” (with Hailey Whitters)
- 5. “Hard Workin’ Man” (with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram)
Side D
- 1. “Hillbilly Deluxe” (with HARDY)
- 2. “Indian Summer” (with ERNEST)
- 3. “Drop in the Bucket” (with A Thousand Horses)
- 4. “Only in America” (with Corey Kent)
“Play Something Country” (with Lainey Wilson)
While all 18 tracks are nothing short of sensational, Brooks & Dunn delved into the details of a few of the record’s most notable tunes: “Play Something Country” featuring Lainey Wilson, “Rock My World (Little Country Girl)” featuring The Marcus King Band and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” featuring Halestorm.
Wilson’s rendition of “Play Something Country” was released ahead of Reboot II, painting the perfect picture of what was to come later in the year. Dunn dished, “Early releases, that’s the way to go now. I mean, it’s changed since the early radio days when, you know, you wait for the release date.”
The pair then delved into the details of why they chose to release Wilson’s tune ahead of all the others, which stemmed from an bombastic studio session. Describing the “Hang Tight Honey” singer as “a rocket,” Wilson arrived in a bell-bottomed custom outfit made from one of Brooks’ famous flame shirts, and naturally, the session was equally as explosive as her ensemble.
“She came in with a flame shirt on — she had had bell bottoms made with my ugly flame shirts. It totally adapted everything with a black cowboy hat — and she came in buzzing, she was fired up, she was ready to go. She wanted to do that song,” Brooks recalled. “I think the whole studio full of musicians totally took the vibe of what she was coming in with.”
As one can assume, a smash hit was created that day, with Wilson putting her signature, twangy twist on “Play Something Country.” Naturally, the Louisiana native was honored to be a part of the project, sharing what Brooks & Dunn and their legacy really means to her, as well as the country music community as a whole.
“Where I’m from, we didn’t even realize [country] was a genre. It was truly just like a way of life, and these guys right here were that way of life,” Wilson gushed. “I don’t know anybody in this town, in this generation of country music, who could say that these guys right here are not influences on what they do.”
“Rock My World (Little Country Girl)” (with The Marcus King Band)
As mentioned, Reboot II features artists that span a great deal of genres, and southern rock/blues band The Marcus King Band certainly added their own spin to “Rock My World (Little Country Girl).”
When asked if there was a certain studio session that stuck out to them in particular, Brooks & Dunn could not help but gush about The Marcus King Band, as well as the lead singer, Marcus King, and his spectacular singing skills. Brooks spilled, “I’ve heard Marcus before, but I didn’t realize… he sounds like Curtis Mayfield on this thing, you know? He’s really high and cool, but he’s playing his guitar and singing at the same time.”
Explaining that they became “fast friends” with Marcus after their show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville — which took place on Jun. 18, 2022 — their playful banter was on full display throughout this session. While his voice had already “blown away” the GRAMMY Award-winners, Brooks & Dunn wanted to take things to another level on “Rock My World (Little Country Girl),” hoping to amp up the instrumentals.
“I went in the vocal booth and said, ‘Hey dude, so you know this guitar solo you’re playing? …It’s like 16 bars. I don’t want to get in your business or anything, but I think we could go ahead and make that 32 bars,’” Brooks reminisced. “[King] goes, ‘Get your a** out of here!’ He goes, ‘Alright boys, this ain’t some Nashville B.S. We’re a dang South Carolina rock band! Let’s go tear it up,’ and man they just bailed off into what you hear on that track, and it is so freaking good.”
He continued, “If I really want to make my day, I’ll listen to that guitar solo again. It is so freaking cool, man… That’s just an example of how fun it is just to turn music loose and let it go, you know, with the right guys. It’s great freedom.”
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” (with Halestorm)
Speaking of “great freedom,” arguably the most out-of-bounds track featured on Reboot II is “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” featuring Halestorm, a global act who had just headlined a sold-out show at Wembley Arena in London before visiting Music City for their studio session. Despite being relatively unfamiliar with Brooks & Dunn, the band tackled their best-known hit, creating their own rock ‘n’ roll rendition of “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” that is certain to blow your speakers out.
Dunn stated that during the session, he and Brooks thought they’d taken things too far, delving into the details of what went down that fateful day. He spilled, “We get in the studio, we’re cutting it, and like the energy level goes through the roof… Lzzy [Hale] is in there singing it like a true, I mean, just banshee headbanger. We had joked about this years ago, talking about like, ‘Let’s do [“Boot Scootin’ Boogie”] like Metallica. What would that be like?’ Just yin and yang, but they brought their game.”
Dunn continued, “I went in to cut my part, and I mean, I was hoarse for three days, and they said [Hale] could do it all day long, every day. I guess it’s just something you have back there in the plumbing, and it’s not in her talking or speaking voice at all. There’s no rasp or anything… Her voice is as clear as a bell, and then she gets in there, and man, she has got that thing.”
“They are a bad a** rock band. They are really freaking good, and they’ve been doing it a long time,” Brooks added, doubling down on the musical duo’s praise of Halestorm.
Reboot II Connects generations of country music fans
As mentioned previously, not only is Reboot II connecting a wide range of genres, but it is also connecting a wide range of generations, featuring artists as young as 25 years old on the record. When asked what it is like knowing that they are solidifying their lasting legacy within the industry, Brooks & Dunn described it as “surprising and really cool at the same time” knowing that they are connecting with all different age groups.
Brooks shared with a smile, “It’s awesome. It’s great energy, and just the support — a lot of, you know, name-dropping us in songs and wearing our hats and t shirts and stuff — it always raises the eyebrow. I go, ‘Well, that’s so cool.’ I mean, we used to do that all the time with Haggard and Jones and people we cared about.”
To hear each and every song for yourself, Reboot II is available to stream now on all platforms.
