Fans became understandably concerned when Brooks & Dunn posted a video revealing that Ronnie Dunn, 73, had been in the hospital just one day prior to taking the stage at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC as special guests on Morgan Wallen’s Still The Problem Tour. The country music icon shared an update on his health while remaining in relatively good spirits.
Dunn opened up about a recent trip to Vanderbilt University Medical Center after experiencing some vocal struggles during the previous week. While he initially worried he may have injured his vocal cords, he says doctors determined that wasn’t the case and instead diagnosed him with bronchitis.
“I don’t feel too good tonight. Went to Vanderbilt yesterday. I struggled a little bit last week. Thought I maybe injured my vocals cords,” he explained. “They said I didn’t, but I got a touch of bronchitis.”
Photo Courtesy of Brooks & Dunn
He went on to admit that he still wasn’t feeling the best and didn’t want to be around people, which was unusual for him.
“I think my blood sugars off or something…having bronchitis is driving me crazy” said Dunn as the video captured him and his duo partner Kix Brooks making their way to the stage and greeting fans along the way.
The video kept things lighthearted, thanks to Dunn’s humor, which appeared remain strong amid the diagnosis. Meanwhile, Brooks couldn’t have appeared more excited to be jamming out in South Carolina.
“They said hydrate, and I’ve been drinking stuff all day, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to pee my pants onstage,” he said before joking that even though having an accident in front of 75,000 people wasn’t ideal, he would still do it if he had to.
They were able to power through and cross off yet another performance on Morgan Wallen’s stadium run. After giving it his all, Dunn came off stage and told the camera, “I’m alright. I’m over-hydrated” and confirmed that he “didn’t pee my pants.”
Fans showed support for Ronnie Dunn in the comment section and sent him well wishes during his recovery.
One user wrote, “You’re a trooper Ronnie!”
“You guys were amazing at Clemson!!!!! The family & I rocked out!!! Feel better Ronnie!!🎸🎤,” said another.
“😂So funny! Prayers u get better. Be careful w that bronchitis! Blessings to you and your families!”
“Ronnie take care of yourself! Your health is the most important thing to you plus I couldn’t make it so reschedule! Clemson SC is the best but I was sick and went to the doctor yesterday so I really understand!”
“Well Kix was looking great , you both sounded great. Im just glad you didn’t pee on yourself Ronnie👏👏”
Photo Courtesy of Brooks & Dunn
The award-winning duo has just two more shows on Wallen’s I’m Still the Problem Tour before continuing their own Neon Moon Tour 2026. Fans can catch them closing out their run with the superstar on Friday, July 17 in Baltimore, MD and on Friday, July 31 in Philadelphia, PA.
A full list of upcoming tour dates can be found on their official website.
Blake Whiten is finally introducing fans to his story with the release of his debut album, Something To Say. Out now via Enchntmnt/Warner Records, the 12-track collection is the result of more than two years of songwriting, with the 21-year-old serving as a co-writer on every song alongside Nashville and Los Angeles songwriters, including Bailey Zimmerman, JKash, Ben Johnson, Taylor Phillips, Hunter Phelps, Erik Dylan, and more.
Produced by Austin Shawn, the full-length project blends Whiten’s raw Southern roots with a country-rock edge inspired by the sounds of the artists he was raised on, which ranges from Keith Whitley to Alan Jackson, AC/DC, Creed, Nickelback, Buckcherry, HARDY, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Photo Courtesy of Blake Whiten
Growing up in the small town of Six Mile, South Carolina, Whiten found his love for music and songwriting while drawing from the values of the close-knit community, the experiences that he’s had up to this point and the lessons he’s learned since strumming his very first guitar at seven years old. The memories of those early days up to this point all shine throughout the entirety of the album.
Even while his career is reaching new heights, with moments like his TODAY show debut, arena dates alongside Bailey Zimmerman, upcoming stadium shows with Morgan Wallen and his headlining Something To Say Tour launching this fall, Whiten still remains deeply connected to the people and place that raised him. Just days after the album’s release, he returned home to Six Mile to treat the community to free gas and food at the local station before closing out the celebration with a truck-bed performance, barbecue and fireworks.
Ahead of the album’s release, we sat down with Blake Whiten to discuss the stories behind the songs, his packed year of touring and why staying connected to his hometown remains so important to him.
How are you feeling ahead of making your TV debuton the TODAY show on album release day?
Super excited. Definitely a little nervous, but more so just super excited to get up there and do it. I know we got to be there pretty early. That’s kind of the only thing that I’m worried about right now.
This album has been a long time coming for you. Why did you decide Something To Say was the right title for your first full-length collection?
Something to Say it was an idea that came to my head when I was trying to figure out what we were going to call the album. For a long time I was kind of honestly going with maybe putting it as one of the song tracks that was on the album. And I was just sitting there one day and it kind of just hit me out of nowhere. I was like, I feel like I just have something to say and this is the perfect way for me to say that I have something to say. And it kind of just fell in place after that.
Blake Whiten; Something To Say
What kinds of messages did you really want to portray through these 12 tracks?
I’ve had these songs sitting around for two to two and a half years now. We’ve kind of just been stacking them up for forever. And I feel like these songs specifically have become my best friends over the last two and a half years. I’ve just been listening to the demos over and over again. And I feel like these kind of tell a good story in the aspect of people don’t really exactly know who I am. I feel like this is a good way to let people know who I am.
The project starts out strong with “This Bar Is My Friend.” Talk about this song and why you wanted to open the album in this way.
This was one of the first songwriting sessions I ever went to. And ever since that day in that songwriting session, I would practically pull this song up every single day and listen to it. It’s just got a different kind of vibe that I didn’t think I had ever even heard before, in my opinion. And I felt like it was a great way to start the album. I kind of wanted to put a song as the very first song that would definitely make you listen to the second song and this one felt like the perfect one.
You grew up on a wide range of music from Keith Whitley to AC/DC and so much more in between. How do those musical influences show up throughout this album?
Listening to all my influences, I kind of just tried to take little bitty pieces of all of their songs, which I mean even listening to Creed when I was 12 years old, I can remember doing that in the car with my family and just here and there I’ll hear a melody and I’m like, “It sounds like Creed would do that, but it’s kind of sick. I kind of want to do it now.” And I definitely carry a lot of influences into every single one of my songs for sure.
How would you describe the sound that you have right now?
I usually tell people that it’s almost like as new school as old school could get.
You also have a stacked list of co-writers across these songs, including Bailey Zimmerman on “Barely Getting By.” What was it like bringing this story to life with him?
Very cool. I just finished up a big tour with him too. He’s like my big brother it feels like at this point. I’ve known him so long. And honestly, that song kind of came out of nowhere. It took a little while to write, but we were honestly just hanging out and that song kind of just started being written. We didn’t finish it the first time we started writing it. Took six months to finally get the song put together. We finally brought it back up. And it was very cool having him on it though.
Is there anything you learned from being on the road with Bailey?
He’s just always having so much fun up there. Even if the slightest little thing goes wrong, he looks happy the entire time that it’s happening. It’s honestly fun to watch his shows and just sit back and watch him run around and jump around and do flips.
Did you feel any pressure with releasing your debut album or have you just been feeling excited and ready for fans to hear the project of your hard work?
I’m just super excited to let people finally hear it. I’ve been sitting on these songs for forever. I feel like I grew up and they’re my friends at this point.
You also get to have a full-circle moment while opening a few dates on Morgan Wallen’s 2026 stadium run. How does it feel to get this opportunity, especially after your breakout moment that came after your cover of Morgan Wallen’s “I’m The Problem” went viral and sent you on your very first flight to Nashville?
It’s pretty awesome. I’m ready to get out there. That’s going to be the biggest show I’ve ever been a part of and I’m glad that he’s bringing me along. But it’s definitely going to be kind of a full circle moment for me. That’ll probably be the show that I might get emotional at. Hopefully I can keep it together on stage.
What can fans expect from your headlining Something To Say Tour that launches this fall?
We’re going to make you a little sad and then we’re going to pick it up by the middle of the set probably and make you a little bit happier and then they might make you cry again. It’s probably going to be all over the place, but it’s going to be a really fun show either way.
Even with all the exciting things happening for you right now, you still took the time to go back home to help your community. Why was it important for you to give back in this way?
I live in a very, very small town and some people have money struggles or maybe other things going on in their life, but that’s my home. And I kind of wanted to figure out how I was going to give back to them in some sort of way. And this just felt like the perfect way. I’m going to get to go back and see everybody while at the same time helping a bunch of people out that I personally know from back in my hometown. So it’s pretty cool.
How has the support been from everyone in your hometown, including the Mayor, as you go along this amazing journey?
It’s been great. Every time I go back, I go to the local gas station and people are stopping me, talking to me, asking me where I was, where I’m going next.
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