DNB Entertainment

We would be remiss if we did not include a shout-out to the one who has handled all of our merchandise sales for the past 5 years. Jackie Self has been out there with all of you fans holding down the fort with all of our t-shirts, mugs, and our ever-famous "boot-scootin koozies". She has travelled with the band to almost every show doing her part - setting up the booth, merch and signage by herself, for simply the love of the band and the music.

Thank you, Jackie, for all you have contributed... and for keeping Darin in line...

And be sure to visit her tonight! Believe me there will be some HUGE discounts and sales on our merch!

HERE WE ARE! We are ready for tomorrow tonight to celebrate that last 7 years of Dunn & Brooks with you.

Short and sweet - steel guitar players are easy to come by, but hard to find. Find a steel guitar player that is the perfect band mate - lock it down.

Paul Sisson was here from the start. He's here to the finish. Come see him with THIS band one more time at Southern Junction Nightclub & Steakhouse tomorrow night March 14, 2026!

Well, the clock's ticking down, y'all. Ticktock to our final show next Saturday night, March 14 at Southern Junction Nightclub & Steakhouse! One last time to bring the neon lights, the bootscootin', and every ounce of Brooks & Dunn we've got.

But before we hit that stage, we gotta give proper respect to the final piece that made this more than "just another tribute" - Mike Self, our Kix Brooks Too.

Mike doesn't just look the part. Sure he's tall but not taller than RD, that signature grin, the twang , he's even got the hat down 100. Mustache and flavor savor the final touch. :)

He's the guy who knows Kix only had one #1 out of 20 #1 hits and wears it like a badge of honor and happy to ride shotgun in the duo. But in our shows? Mike is a one man band. In our shows, Mike will play electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, and saxophone. He's played banjo and looked for times to break out his mandolin. Ask him to play anything, and he'll nod, step up, and deliver. Because Mike Self is just special.

When he joined us as Kix, everything clicked in a way I didn't know it could. The sound got fuller, the stage felt bigger, but more than that, the heart of the band did too.

Mike's got this quiet steadiness. He never argues, always lifts. When he looks you in the eye and talks, he's really there because he cares about people, not just the gig.

Living down in Ennis, those late night drives home after 2 a.m. gigs could've been brutal. But Mike's got his wife Jackie riding shotgun every time keeping the coffee hot, making sure nobody's fading behind the wheel. She's part of us too, and we're forever grateful for Jackie.

To me personally? Mike's been a big brother I never knew I could have. Someone I look up to for how he carries himself, with grace, humor, zero ego. In the tough stretches, when the crowds were thin or the road trips were long, he was the one cracking a joke or just saying the right thing to keep us going.

I wish I'd stolen more latenight talks, and more time just hanging.

But what we did share? It's etched in the memories. This last show isn't goodbye - it's thank you. Thank you, Mike, for making Dunn & Brooks real. For the music, the miles, the big-brotherhood. And our friends that come and see us, if you've ever felt that spark when we hit those opening chords of Brand New Man or My Maria that is Mike Self.

You'll still catch Mike with Seger System (Bob Seger Tribute) in leather pants in fact - down the road.

All I know is the music doesn't stop, the key just changes. I'm just glad Mike was here to make sure this one was in G for me :)

And Mike, we get one more backstage band prayer, a shot of whiskey, a high five and a hug before we rip it.

See y'all at Southern Junction. Bring your boots, your voices, and your best memories. We're gonna make 'em count.

It's March! The Spring Equinox is almost here! Did you know the equinox is the time when the sun crosses the celestial equator, resulting in roughly equal amounts of daylight and darkness after a long winter? Well, this equinox marks the story of Darin Johnson joining our band.

We've spent the last couple of months thanking, memorializing, and honoring those who helped us along the way. There isn't a person higher on that list than Darin.

You see, Darin moved to Texas right out of high school, driving down from Minnesota in a van. His dream was playing music and being in a band. In the late '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, he teamed up with rising country music star Ty Herndon and played with him through the years that '90s country fans still remember: "Living in a Moment," "What Mattered Most," and "It Must Be Love," to name a few #1 tunes.

As their career skyrocketed with Top 40 hits, Darin played sold-out shows and arenas all over the country, including taking the stage with Ty at the iconic Grand Ole Opry.

With everything Darin had ever dreamed of right in his grasp, he also had a couple small kids at home. This is the part I respect most about Darin: he put the guitar down, shelved his dream job, started a small business, and raised his kids alongside his wife, Becky. (Side note, now he is a grandad to twin boys as of a couple weeks ago!)

When the kids grew into adults and moved on to pursue their own dreams, Darin picked the guitar back up for the first time in 15 years! That’s when our struggling band finally crossed the equinox and found some daylight. The second Darin played the first note of "Neon Moon" at our initial jam session, I knew we had our guy.

More than just a great bandmate and dad, Darin is an incredible teacher and always the guy who brought levity to every road trip, show, and practice. He made sure we were always improving—whether musically or with technology and gear (and there's a lot of gear). I'll miss the practical jokes and being with him on stage doing his craft so perfectly as he covers all those Brent Mason licks note for note as we discussed last week.

If you want to see Darin play some guitar you can find him all over the region with Texas music artist Derryl Perry.

Love ya, Darin.

And don't forget! Final show is March 14 @ Southern Junction Nightclub & Steakhouse get your tickets!

Here we go!!! Getting closer to our last ride! Grab your tickets at Southern Junction March 14! We’ve spent the last few weeks talking about people that made this band work. But we were never going to get “the guy” we needed that can make the whole concept work if there wasn’t “the guy” to begin with.

If you go through a B&D catalog, you’ll notice instantly that you have to have a telecaster guitar player, and not just any telecaster guitar player. Brent Mason is still today, “the guy” on guitar and did so much of the recording work for Brooks & Dunn on guitar. If you’ve heard that riff on Chattahoochie by Alan Jackson you know who I’m talking about.

If you’ve ever cranked up “Brand New Man,” “My Next Broken Heart,” “Neon Moon,” “Cool Drink of Water,” or “Hard Workin’ Man” and love those telecaster solos and chickenpickin’ riffs, yup, that’s Brent. He was on their debut album and several after.

Brent is a legend, multiple Guitarist of the Year awards, worked with everybody from Alan Jackson to George Strait, and mentored by Chet Atkins. His tone and feel basically helped shape that 90s country sound we all fell in love with.

That style is exactly what hooked our own Darin Johnson when we started this thing 7 years ago. He was like, “If we are going to do this right, I’ve got to clone those parts.” And night after night, Darin poured his heart into nailing them live so it felt authentic, not just a cover.

I’m gonna give Darin his full shout-out next week as we head into the final show (he’s earned every word of it), but tonight I just wanted to tip my hat to Brent Mason for giving us all something worth chasing.

So close to Valentine’s Day, and we are winding down toward March 14 — the REAL FINAL SHOW — right back where it belongs at Southern Junction Nightclub & Steakhouse. Get your tickets, come grill a steak, dance, and sing along with us one last time.

Over the last few posts, I’ve been thanking the people who made this little band project so much fun. A few posts ago, I shared the true story of how our original keyboard player faked his own death to avoid band practice. That left us needing a keyboard player immediately.

Enter Tyler Neufeldt.

You know how every successful organization has an MVP? Tyler is ours.

In six years, we never played a single show without him. Not one. That’s 125 shows.

Tyler is an incredible musician from Saskatchewan, Canada, but more importantly, he’s an incredible person. He brought calm to chaos, gave us an extra gear when we needed it most, and made every part of this journey more enjoyable. EXCEPT THE SNORING.

He bought the band trailer. Hauled it to almost every show. Loaded it. Unloaded it. Handled video. Played keys. Fixed problems nobody else even knew existed. Drove all over the country and never once complained.

Not once.

He’s generous to a fault, loyal beyond reason, and the kind of person every family and every organization hopes to have. It’s no surprise he and his family are so successful, and his pool company is too. If you ever need one, check out DolcePools.com.

Every band needs a Tyler.

We were lucky enough to have him in ours.

Love you, brother.

Jay Smith. Need I say more?

Yes, I do. Jay has been a staple in the DFW music scene for 3 decades. I first met Jay when he was playing with the Keith Mitchell band. And I loved Keith. I would try and make as many Keith Mitchell shows as I could just because Keith played country dance tunes. But Keith would take a break and let Jay sing and play a song or two. Back then I didn't know I would even be in a band. I just knew that Jay had that extra gear. Search some YouTube on Jay Smith. Jay opened up a fantastic establishment over in Richardson called Good Vibes Bar and Grill. They have live music and maybe you can talk Jay to jump on stage and make you want to start a band too. I've been trying to play music with Jay for 15 years, and so happy that he spent the last year with us on bass. It's because of Jay there is a last show at Southern Junction on March 14. So get those tickets and come sing and dance!

Almost to February! So thankful for all the people that helped us grow to be the best band except for Kix and Ronnie themselves (insert disclaimer legal people). I have thanked the agents that helped open doors, all of the fantastic musicians that offered time and talent, and vocal coaches. But you know - I have to thank someone really special tonight! Did you know we had a keyboard player FAKE HIS OWN DEATH, because he didn't want to practice as hard as the rest of the band did? We are glad we saw you're still alive out there playing music because we thought you died. However, because we thought you were dead, a door opened for our guy - and we will talk about him next month! Can't wait to see EVERYONE - yes even you death defier, March 14 at Southern Junction!

Alright, Dunn & Brooks family! I’ve thanked all of the folks that were integral parts to help us get to the best year we ever had, 2025. After all, this music was the music of my college years, the best years -the 90’s years! We look forward to you helping us close out this band’s run in keeping that alive. When we started Dunn & Brooks 7 years ago, Ronnie and Kix were not touring together. We just loved their music. Nobody knew that music more than our drummer Matt Hunt. I’ll never forget our first practice with Matt on drums. He would be in the opposite corner of the rehearsal room, and he was singing every single word to every song while drumming along! It fired me up! I’m pretty sure if you’ve watched him at any of our shows, you’ve seen him do the same. Matt is a country music drummer, not a drummer that plays country music. He’s solid, not flashy, not trying to steal the show. He’ll show up on stage in his black t-shirt, try and hide in the shadows and then excel at his craft. Matt was my roommate on the road - we shared all the belly laughs and stories until our eyes couldn’t stay awake, then wake up and do it all again. He held out of many “fill-in” opportunities only wanting to be our full-time drummer, and I’m glad he did - he made the last couple of years so enjoyable. Thanks Matt. You only have to endure me as a percussionist on cowbell 1 more time. Love you, man.

Snowed and iced in? Us too. Our final show rescheduled to March 14 so time to be thankful to another band member that really helped us grow, with social media presence, attention to detail, and just a wonderful kid - Kevin McCabe. We needed a full time drummer that could travel when needed. We reached out to some folks and enter Kevin. Kevin had never heard of Brooks & Dunn. After all, he was 23 at the time, a recent graduate from LSU and the drum captain there, but he showed up to the first tryout with the entire set down pat. Great on arrangement of music and composition, he helped us create some great show dynamics that you've heard in every show today. My favorite Kevin story - we were opening for the iconic country band Little Texas in Grapevine and their long time drummer couldn't make it last minute due to some health issues. Kevin told Little Texas he could learn it - even though he had never heard a song of theirs. 45 minutes in the car listening, and Kevin played their set like he had done it for years. A fantastic, honest, bright, and always positive young man - we hated to lose him to a move to Virginia where he still plays music full time - his passion. Thanks Kevin for your years playing with us, you made us better.

Due to Winter Storm Sisson, ( we don't know that's the name of it but NWS if you are following then we think our steel player Paul Sisson causes a whole lot of mayhem too) we have rescheduled our FINAL SHOW at Southern Junction to March 14! Any tickets purchased transfer to that date.

Here we go, headed down the thankfulness backstretch to final show Jan 24 at Southern Junction! Our keyboard player Tyler Neufeldt, owns a pool company named Dolce Pools. He builds high end custom pools. He was building a pool for a client and calls me one day and says “hey, I’m building a pool for this guy named Jerry Abrams and I think he might be a pretty good bass player”. It just so happened we needed a bass player. After a rehearsal, it was obvious we really wanted a guy that’s so easy to get along with, so amazing in his craft, and so humble and non-braggadocios considering his resume of playing bass for Tommy Alverson, Max Stalling, Jason Eady, and Billy Joe Shaver. We appreciate Jerry - and I appreciate Jerry for turning me on to the music of John Fulbright who he played with for some time.