Tuesday night, modern country legends Brooks & Dunn celebrated the 35th anniversary of their debut album Brand New Man with a massive party and show (complete with T-shirt cannon) on an outdoor stage at Losers in Midtown. The record is a landmark worthy of celebration, and staff photog Angelina Castillo was on the scene for us.

In summer 1991, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn came thundering out of the gate with their first full-length, released Aug. 13 via Arista. Neotraditional country was on the rise at the time (with titan Garth Brooks leading the charge), and the LP established Brooks & Dunn among the era’s stars. Hit singles like “Neon Moon” and the line-dance anthem “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” have been highly influential on successive generations of artists, making the pair part of the bedrock of country music today.

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Brooks & Dunn at Losers, 10/20/2026

That goes for the mainstream as well as beyond it. For some fine examples, take Joshua Hedley, whose 2022 LP Neon Blue is a gorgeous salute to ’90s neotrad. Or Kacey Musgraves, who’s recently made it a bit to cosplay aviator-shades-wearing Ronnie Dunn — including while he was onstage as a special guest when she played Bridgestone Arena in September.

A few notes for the statistically inclined: Chart-wise, it was nigh impossible back in the day to beat the aforementioned Garth Brooks, whose No Fences came out a couple weeks after Brand New Man. But Brooks & Dunn’s debut made a very strong showing, peaking at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums, and it stayed on the chart for more than five years. The album crossed over easily into pop as well, peaking at No. 10 during a lengthy stay on the all-genre Billboard 200. In 2024, Brand New Man was certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA, marking 7 million copies sold.

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