Taylor Swift did two shows in Nashville, and as you can imagine, there were many, many special guests.  During her regular show, Taylor does this thing where she rises up onto the stage on a couch, so you can imagine the crowd would go wild if that couch rose up and someone like Ronnie Dunn or Tim McGraw was on there.  They were among the couchsurfers, along with other guests Kenny Chesney and Hayley Williams from the rock/pop band Paramore.  Here are some videos of her Nashville pals on stage with her.

Ronnie talked with Mike And Amy about the breakup of Brooks and Dunn, and his first solo album just released, Ronnie Dunn.

Listen!   

Ronnie Dunn 2011-06-06

Looks like Kix Brooks is giving Tim McGraw a little run for his money in the acting department.  Kix has just finished up a small role in a movie called “Thriftstore Cowboy,”  and he’s already been offered a leading role in another movie.  It’s called “The Last Ride,” and Kix gets to play a cop who gets suckered into being a part of a bank robbery that lands him in the slammer.  Kix says, “I guess I didn’t screw ['Thriftstore Cowboy'] up too bad or they wouldn’t have offered me the role in ‘The Last Ride.”  I’ll let you know release dates for both of those flicks when I get them.

So to celebrate/commemorate the end of his partnership with Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn went out and got a big ole tattoo.  Now I’m not surprised that Ronnie would get a tat, but this one surprises me for some reason:

I don’t know why, but this seems un-Ronnie-ish to me.  I would think he’d do something more fancy and refined.  I mean, the guy collects Russian impressionist paintings in his spare time.  He says it’s to make up for the fact that he never got to be the one wearing the cowboy hat for all of those years.

This Sunday on A&E, you might want to check out “A&E Private Sessions,” which is all about Brooks and Dunn and includes live performances, an interview with the boys, and a few video surprises like this one:

On the stands this week in People magazine is a photo of a bunch of country music superstars all together, and to tell you the truth I assumed they had photoshopped everyone into the shot…because how could you possibly get all of those people in one room?  Well they did it in Vegas at the time of the ACMS, and everyone showed up because it was in honor of Brooks and Dunn and they all love those dudes. 

Here’s the video of the photo shoot:

This Friday, Reba McEntire will join Brooks and Dunn to perform their hit “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” on CBS’ The Late Show With David Letterman.  The threesome is promoting the special, “ACMs Present:  Brooks and Dunn — The Last Rodeo,” a show that was recorded in Vegas during the ACMs, which means everyobdy known to man was available to participate.  That show airs this Sunday night, also on CBS.

Lucky for us, it was all recorded for TV, because everyone was on hand last night to pay tribute to the most famous duo ever in country music.  Even King George Strait was there to give Kix & Ronnie their due, singing his own version of  “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.”  Taylor Swift produced a video of Ronnie Dunn imitating her trademark hair toss that she does about 100 times per show.  Kix commented that it was the first time he’d ever seen Ronnie mess up his hair.  Everyone else known to man was there to perform, including Sugarland, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Reba, Lady A, Darius Rucker and more.  CBS will air it on May 25th.

Vote for the song Brooks & Dunn will perform at THE 45th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS.   Vote here. Pick from six Brooks & Dunn songs:

1  My Maria
2  Brand New Man
3  Red Dirt Road
4  Neon Moon
5  You’re Gonna Miss Me
6  Boot Scootin’ Boogie

What?  We only get to pick from six songs?   20 years together…we think they had more songs than that.

The ACM Awards are Sunday, April 18th, 8:00  PM on CBS.  Brooks & Dunn are nominated for Top Vocal Duo of the Year.  Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn will also receive the Academy’s Milestone Award in recognition of their 20-year record-breaking career.

Don’t forget the tribute concert special, “ACM PRESENTS: BROOKS & DUNN – THE LAST RODEO”  Sunday, May 23 (8:00-10:00 PM PT) on CBS.

That’s what Kix Brooks said this week in Nashville as he and Ronnie Dunn were given a lifetime achievement award at the Country Radio Seminar this week. Fun was had by all, especially when Dierks Bentley did this cool version of “Red Dirt Road”: