Rascal Flatts Give Brooks & Dunn a Savage Ribbing [Watch]
When Rascal Flatts were asked how it feels to have a Country Music Hall of Famer opening for them, they quipped, "Was Little Jimmy Dickens out there?" Actually, it was Brooks & Dunn, and the trio were just getting started with the good-natured but still savage ribbing.
Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn opened for Rascal Flatts during Day 2 of the 2019 Taste of Country Music Festival in Hunter, N.Y., on June 8. "They know what they’re doing," singer Gary LeVox says. "They don’t want the headlining spot. They want to be done early enough so they can go to bed, because they’re old and they have to take sleeping pills and things."
His impression of Dunn singing "Hard Working Man" comes next, and it's spot-on, complete with the right facial expressions.
"Our parents grew up on them," Jay DeMarcus says early on in the video above.
Joe Don Rooney mostly lays back, but recalls playing basketball with Brooks early in the trio's career. In truth, the two hitmakers are close friends. Brooks & Dunn took Rascal Flatts on the road early in their career, and Brooks and LeVox would later become neighbors. DeMarcus recalls producing one of Dunn's solo albums (Tattooed Heart), calling it among his proudest accomplishments.
Earlier in the night, B&D talked about their own new music, and what's holding them back from recording a brand new album:
See the Highlights From the 2019 Taste of Country Music Festival