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Social media commenters expressed concern for Ronnie Dunn’s health when videos circulated of the Brooks & Dunn star walking off stage during an encore performance.
A rep for the award-winning duo has since shared a statement about Dunn’s early exit.
Dunn, 71, stopped singing as he and duo partner Kix Brooks performed their iconic early 90s anthem, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” on Thursday night (April 3) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dunn told the crowd “sing it if you know it,” as he stepped away from the microphone, seemingly signaled to his guitar player that he could no longer perform, and walk to the edge of the stage. He patted his chest and waved to the audience before he made his exit.
“Ronnie wasn’t feeling well from being sick, but Saturday night’s show went on as planned,” the Brooks & Dunn rep said in a statement to USA Today on Monday (April 7). The duo’s next show is set for April 24 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Dunn said in a recent caption on Instagram that he “had to fight through the last two shows (the flu and strep aren’t a singer’s friend...) Crowds have been terrific and thanks to the best band and crew in the business we’ve powered through it.”
Brooks & Dunn joined the star-studded lineup of the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival, which is slated to take place on Saturday, May 3. The festival, hosted by iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones, will return to Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Other artists in the lineup include Cole Swindell, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Sam Hunt, Megan Moroney, Bailey Zimmerman and Nate Smith.
Hulu will be the Official Streaming Destination of the festival, with performances livestreamed exclusively to all Hulu subscribers at no additional cost. Additional information about the livestream will be posted across Hulu’s platform and social media channels. Fans can tune in to the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival to catch all of the action live on May 3 at 8pm ET/5pm PT (7pm CT) across iHeartCountry stations nationwide and on the free iHeartRadio app via iHeartRadio's iHeartCountry station. Tickets to the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival are available now via Ticketmaster.com.