Brooks & Dunn Star Says 'We're Compromising' While Working On New Record

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are no strangers to compromise after more than three decades as one of country music’s most awarded duos.

Brooks & Dunn caught up with CBS Mornings ahead of a recent performance. When asked about the last thing they had to compromise on, Dunn shared, “We’re compromising right now, working on a new record,” he said with a laugh. “You talk about the ultimate compromise.”

Brooks agreed, “All the time, yeah.”

“(We’re) songwriters, and we’re firing stuff back and forth, you know, we’re critiquing one another’s music,” Dunn continued. “That’s the holy grail, right? I want all my songs not here. He wants all his songs on there. So, we have to work that stuff down and you sweat and bleed, you know, every word.”

Brooks said that he and Dunn, as songwriters, “both realize, down deep, that song I wrote is better than that song I wrote. So, you have to, you know, you got to be honest with yourself, and then at some point we got to be honest with each other.” Dunn said, making his duo partner laugh, “This is the stuff that breaks bands up.”

“And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of getting through that,” Brooks said.

Brooks & Dunn didn’t share when they plan to release a new record; however, it would be the first collection of all-new, original music since they released Cowboy Town in 2007. Most recently, Brooks & Dunn delivered Reboot II in November 2024, featuring a collaboration project that reimagines some of their classic anthems with other artists.

Brooks & Dunn, who will receive the 2026 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award next month at the 60th CMA Awards, recently played a free pop-up show in the parking lot of a local bar in Nashville, Tennessee. The duo performed career-spanning hits at Loser’s Bar & Grill to celebrate 35 years since they released their iconic early ‘90s debut album, Brand New Man. Find that album and more from Brooks & Dunn on iHeartRadio.