DNB Entertainment

We would be remiss if we did not include a shout-out to the one who has handled all of our merchandise sales for the past 5 years. Jackie Self has been out there with all of you fans holding down the fort with all of our t-shirts, mugs, and our ever-famous "boot-scootin koozies". She has travelled with the band to almost every show doing her part - setting up the booth, merch and signage by herself, for simply the love of the band and the music.

Thank you, Jackie, for all you have contributed... and for keeping Darin in line...

And be sure to visit her tonight! Believe me there will be some HUGE discounts and sales on our merch!

It's March! The Spring Equinox is almost here! Did you know the equinox is the time when the sun crosses the celestial equator, resulting in roughly equal amounts of daylight and darkness after a long winter? Well, this equinox marks the story of Darin Johnson joining our band.

We've spent the last couple of months thanking, memorializing, and honoring those who helped us along the way. There isn't a person higher on that list than Darin.

You see, Darin moved to Texas right out of high school, driving down from Minnesota in a van. His dream was playing music and being in a band. In the late '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, he teamed up with rising country music star Ty Herndon and played with him through the years that '90s country fans still remember: "Living in a Moment," "What Mattered Most," and "It Must Be Love," to name a few #1 tunes.

As their career skyrocketed with Top 40 hits, Darin played sold-out shows and arenas all over the country, including taking the stage with Ty at the iconic Grand Ole Opry.

With everything Darin had ever dreamed of right in his grasp, he also had a couple small kids at home. This is the part I respect most about Darin: he put the guitar down, shelved his dream job, started a small business, and raised his kids alongside his wife, Becky. (Side note, now he is a grandad to twin boys as of a couple weeks ago!)

When the kids grew into adults and moved on to pursue their own dreams, Darin picked the guitar back up for the first time in 15 years! That’s when our struggling band finally crossed the equinox and found some daylight. The second Darin played the first note of "Neon Moon" at our initial jam session, I knew we had our guy.

More than just a great bandmate and dad, Darin is an incredible teacher and always the guy who brought levity to every road trip, show, and practice. He made sure we were always improving—whether musically or with technology and gear (and there's a lot of gear). I'll miss the practical jokes and being with him on stage doing his craft so perfectly as he covers all those Brent Mason licks note for note as we discussed last week.

If you want to see Darin play some guitar you can find him all over the region with Texas music artist Derryl Perry.

Love ya, Darin.

And don't forget! Final show is March 14 @ Southern Junction Nightclub & Steakhouse get your tickets!

Alright, Dunn & Brooks family! I’ve thanked all of the folks that were integral parts to help us get to the best year we ever had, 2025. After all, this music was the music of my college years, the best years -the 90’s years! We look forward to you helping us close out this band’s run in keeping that alive. When we started Dunn & Brooks 7 years ago, Ronnie and Kix were not touring together. We just loved their music. Nobody knew that music more than our drummer Matt Hunt. I’ll never forget our first practice with Matt on drums. He would be in the opposite corner of the rehearsal room, and he was singing every single word to every song while drumming along! It fired me up! I’m pretty sure if you’ve watched him at any of our shows, you’ve seen him do the same. Matt is a country music drummer, not a drummer that plays country music. He’s solid, not flashy, not trying to steal the show. He’ll show up on stage in his black t-shirt, try and hide in the shadows and then excel at his craft. Matt was my roommate on the road - we shared all the belly laughs and stories until our eyes couldn’t stay awake, then wake up and do it all again. He held out of many “fill-in” opportunities only wanting to be our full-time drummer, and I’m glad he did - he made the last couple of years so enjoyable. Thanks Matt. You only have to endure me as a percussionist on cowbell 1 more time. Love you, man.

Here we go, headed down the thankfulness backstretch to final show Jan 24 at Southern Junction! Our keyboard player Tyler Neufeldt, owns a pool company named Dolce Pools. He builds high end custom pools. He was building a pool for a client and calls me one day and says “hey, I’m building a pool for this guy named Jerry Abrams and I think he might be a pretty good bass player”. It just so happened we needed a bass player. After a rehearsal, it was obvious we really wanted a guy that’s so easy to get along with, so amazing in his craft, and so humble and non-braggadocios considering his resume of playing bass for Tommy Alverson, Max Stalling, Jason Eady, and Billy Joe Shaver. We appreciate Jerry - and I appreciate Jerry for turning me on to the music of John Fulbright who he played with for some time.