Brooks & Dunn Prove Their Magic Chemistry Remains in a Boot Scootin’ Rodeo Concert With a Surprise Finish

In the early aughts, the unforgettable Brooks & Dunn made us a promise— there’s a lot you’ll find Only in America. That goes double for Texas, triple for Houston, maybe even quadruple for the Rodeo.

Like watching a sold-out crowd get as darn close to two-steppin’ as one can in stadium seating, or watching them Boot Scootin’ Boogie back to their seats for a sudden encore, even though it was already past 10 pm on a weeknight.

Like laughing as a grown man points to his gigantic COWBOY tattoo on his forearm and chuckling that he once told his daughter if she had a problem with his ink, she could take it up with Dr. Phil.

Or like seeing a massive, flowing American flag descend from the ceiling of a 72,200-seat football stadium with troops in uniform slowly coming down with it.

That’s just how the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo kicked off Tuesday night’s Brooks & Dunn concert, a performance by that all-time chart-topping, show-stopping dynamic duo in honor of Armed Forces Appreciation Day.

The audience leapt to their feet when the soldiers touched down and folded the flag between them. It was a patriotic moment, and a pure one.

It wasn’t long before the arms of the signature star-shaped rodeo stage began to unfurl, and Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn stepped out onto the dirt and up the set’s stairs.

“Hello, Houston!” the singer-songwriters shouted in unison, slinging their guitars over their shoulders. Time has treated both Brooks & Dunn pretty well since they catapulted to country music stardom in the 1990s with hit after hit, making them the ultimate top-selling duo in all of country music history.

They both look older, for sure. Definitely better, in Dunn’s case — he’s long bid farewell to those frosted blond tips and now the country rocker rocks his natural brown hair, a little longer, and a decent beard.

He took to the stage confidently in his stripped-down, approachable way, wearing a nondescript long-sleeved brown tee and jeans.

For his part, Brooks was looking in sharp in a black cowboy hat and matching vest on top of a crisp white button down. Like Dunn, he’s got the swagger, and his lyrics have got their sincerity. But he does things his own way, with his own kind of intensity.

Their country music chemistry is legendary, and for good reason. Their pop-tinged tunes have been inescapable in the country world for decades, turning these sons of oilmen into certified commercial stars.

As an act, they’re a force to be reckoned with. This was Brooks & Dunn’s first Houston Rodeo appearance since 2010 — and the wait (which included the period when this iconic duo parted ways) was worth it.

No Ordinary Red Dirt Road

Nothing’ll make a Rodeo-goer feel brand new like the sudden jolt of Brand New Man. Brooks & Dunn started it off right, with the unexpected. It only took two syllables, “I saw,” for Houston to electrify the night with a good old-fashioned sing-along.

As he sauntered the stage, it was easy to believe Dunn when he sang “Oh, how I used to roam, I was a rolling stone.”

It takes a certain kind of magic to make a song that came out in 1991 feel fresh and brand new to your fans.

Born to love again, the audience burst into raucous applause as the song drew to a close almost suddenly as it had started.

The stage went black, then blue before it turned to a bright red: the perfect background for Red Dirt Road, sung out in Brooks & Dunn’s smooth harmony, their voices complementing each other’s just as much as their individual stage presence does.

Dunn: the unassuming yet soulful storyteller, gesturing with his hands as he croons out tunes like Put A Girl In It, walking down to one of the Houston Rodeo star stage‘s tips to give the crowd some friendly and well-meaning advice.

“If you’re ridin’ in your truck, put a girl in it. If you’re gonna have a party, put a girl in it. If you wanna live the good life? Better put a girl in it,” like he’s just trying to shake some sense into one of his buddies, maybe even Brooks.

Until a song gets serious, and you can see it in his face as much as you can hear it in his voice.

And then there’s Brooks: ever the energetic showman, grinning from the stage, or eyes looking off into the distance as he strums his guitar or squeezed shut as he loses himself on the harmonica for Mama Don’t Get Dressed for Nothin’.

Brooks & Dunn Embrace the Moment

In all, Brooks sang four of the 16 songs of the night, setting up front and center for hits like Lost and Found and You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone, cleverly worded, if a little sad, counterpoints to the Dunn-led smashes like the one that really got Houston stomping their feet: Ain’t Nothin’ Bout You.

From the moment the first chords played, people in the crowd were pumping their fists in anticipation. The only person feeling it more than the crowd was probably Brooks himself, as he’d spin and dip his guitar at the end of every chorus.

The duo kept the energy and adrenaline running high, jumping headfirst into Play Something Country. They blew the door right in like T&T, picking up the tempo and tapping their feet while the audience followed suit.

“Ha-ooh-hoo” became a kind of country music call and refrain, Dunn and the crowd taking turns throwing their heads back and howling. Girls scattered across the first level jumped up with their friends, swaying back and forth to the music, blocking other fans’ attempts to send a Snap of the song.

They started to take their seats as the lights turned blue and Brooks & Dunn eased into the next song. It led in with the tinkling of a keyboard and some nostalgic, soaring vocals. A confession, cozied up at the bar — Neon Moon.

If it had seemed like a sing-along during previous songs, it was now like the entire crowd was auditioning to be in the band. Some fans every single word, from first to last, swaying gently.

Cellphones were held high, shining out into the stadium while the stage rotated, a gleaming, beaming moon projected on the back. Many Rodeo-goers were coupled up at this point, but you’d see the occasional person lift up a beer in commiseration.

Dunn stretched out “beam” as long as he could, squeezing every ounce he could out of each vowel. The crowd wasn’t complaining. They probably never wanted it to end.

Next, Brooks & Dun set out to prove they were Hard Workin’ Men. “Do you party here?” Brooks asked the crowd as he dipped his guitar, took a breath and smiled. Houston pitched in, lending their voices for “I’m a hard, hard workin’ man.” They got the Brooks & Dunn stamp of approval — “Dang, y’all sound good!”

You’d better Believe it. Brooks settled down onto a stool for that tender ballad about loss and small town life. Dunn’s entire understated expression shifted as he raised his hands, bowed his head against the stage’s screen projected mosaic of green and blue.

Dunn wiped his eyes on the last note, nodding gently.

It’s hard to say if there’s a song they’d all been waiting for, given the general consensus judging by cheers, claps and whistles throughout. But if there were one, it’d be Boot Scootin’ Boogie. Brooks on the harmonica, Dunn on the balls of his feet.

“Sing it if you know it!” Brooks cried, as though there was a soul in vast NRG Stadium who didn’t.

Everyone was on their feet, dancing in the rows and even in the aisles, as far as the blue-vested volunteers got down.

Space City screamed as the song died down. The stage went black, and people started heading for the exits. That is, until My Maria. Everyone froze. It’s not an exaggeration to say no one saw it coming. Boot Scootin’ Boogie was the perfect closer, even if it felt like it came too soon – even that late in the night.

Brooks & Dunn were having a blast, putting their all into it, grinning. They would each swagger up to different tips of the star stage, before meeting again in the middle to play off each other, bumping shoulders.

It could have ended just like that, the buzz, the energy mirroring the first song. But it wasn’t time quite yet.

The stage lights flashed red, white and blue. It was the ‘Murica encore to end all encores: Only in America. The crowd lost when Dunn changed the lyrics from “Sun goin’ down on an LA Freeway” to “Sun goin’ down over the Houston Rodeo.”

Everyone was dreaming in red, white and blue. But then the real stars of the show came onto the stage: an array of individuals in the armed forces, in full uniform, came and stood up front. The crowd was already on their feet dancing, but you could tell it was a standing ovation.