Brooks & Dunn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

An era comes to an end with this summer’s farewell tour by Brooks & Dunn. The loss of the duo saddens many country fans, but Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are feeling pretty good about it. They’re each ready to try something new.

“We’re both pretty much at peace with it,” Kix told CNN. “We both need to move on right now. We’ve really chased everything that we know how to chase musically, as far as our stage shows. Neither one of us wanted to do this in the first place. We got put together and we said, ‘What the heck? We’ll give it a shot.’ And then next thing you know, it’s 20 years later.”

Through their entire run, there were periodic rumors that Brooks & Dunn were splitting. They repeatedly denied the stories, then went out and kept up a rather torrid pace on the road. Now that they’re getting ready to go their separate ways, they’re already being asked about a reunion tour.

“You gotta break up before you can get back together,” Kix laughed, “and we’re still working on that.”

The duo’s final tour, the Last Rodeo, begins April 23 near Sacramento and currently ends Aug. 8 in Chicago. In the meantime, they’re being honored repeatedly. They’ll receive a Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday during the annual Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. They’ll be recognized again March 22 at the T.J. Martell Honors Gala, and on April 19, the Academy of Country Music will shoot a CBS television special in Las Vegas, “ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn — The Last Rodeo.”

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