Kix Brooks Counts Down!!!

Kix Brooks Counts Down!!!

Country Superstar Tapped As New Host of ABC Radio Networks American Country Countdown

NEW YORK, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- He's been Entertainer of the Year 4 times ... Headlined countless major tours and written #1 hits for himself and many others ... and with partner Ronnie Dunn pretty much defined what modern honky tonk music post-Waylon Jennings and the heart of Saturday night. And now, the utterly hospitable Kix Brooks has been tapped by ABC Radio Networks as the new host for its American Country Countdown -- the longest running and most listened to count to #1 in the nation.

"The thing about Kix -- not only is he a consummate entertainer, he loves what he does ... and he has done it as completely as anyone I've ever seen," says John McConnell, Senior Vice President of ABC Radio Networks, of the choice. "He knows the music. He knows the songs. He knows the people. He knows the life. But especially, he knows the stories -- and the artists and fans just seem to take him places they wouldn't most other people."

Brooks will take over as the host of the 16-time Billboard Network/Syndicated Show of the Year winner in January 2006. A music intensive 4 hours that counts down the biggest 40 songs in country music each week, American Country Countdown is heard on more than 400 radio stations nationwide, along with the Armed Forces Radio Network and internationally through a joint venture with Radio Express.

"I think this is gonna be cool," says the man with the smoky voice, the quick laugh and the sparkle in his eyes. "The idea of getting to bring the listeners into our world, to give them insight into where the music comes from and what our lives are like out here ... it's a great way to bring people even closer to what we do every week -- and I love that."

Having just wrapped the wildly successful Deuces Wild Tour -- with special guests Big & Rich and the Warren Brothers -- Brooks & Dunn head straight into their second year hosting the annual Country Music Association Awards. With their nearing platinum Hillbilly Deluxe debuting at #1 on Billboard's Country Album Chart and "Play Something Country" topping both of the singles charts, the duo who've been hailed as "Country music's Mick and Keith" by no less than The Village Voice show no signs of slowing down ... so American Country Countdown is in for a pretty spectacular ride.

"This positions us to take a show that's the standard by which everyone else is compared to even deeper places," says McConnell. "Kix is a natural story-teller -- and he brings that out in others. This is a show that's not just what the hits are, but who the people writing and recording them are. So, American Country Countdown is poised to be the definitive source. And, given Kix's personality, the listeners will have a lot of fun."

Brooks & Dunn will play a rare stripped down club gig at Irving Plaza in New York City on Nov. 10, then will host "The 39th Annual Country Music Association Awards," broadcast live from Madison Square Garden on CBS, Nov. 15. With "Believe," the searing song about generational connections and faith beyond words currently taking the charts, Hillbilly Deluxe continues flexing its muscle as the duo's most personal and musically expansive project yet.

About ABC Radio Networks

ABC Radio Networks has 4,600 affiliate radio stations reaching 109 million people age 12 and over each week. Programs and services include ABC News Radio, Paul Harvey News and Comment, The Sean Hannity Show, Satellite Sisters, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Doug Banks Morning Show, MoneyTalk with Bob Brinker, The Mark Davis Show, The Larry Elder Show, American Country Countdown, The Dan Patrick Show, The Michael Baisden Show, Dick Bartley's Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits, The John Batchelor Show, Todd Pettengill at the 80s, Renan Almendarez Coello-El Cucuy de la Manana, El Vacilon de la Manana with Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow and El Vacilon de la Manana with Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero. Other ABC broadcast services include ABC Sports Radio, Radio Disney, syndicated music and talk programs including Flashback, format-specific ePREP and production libraries, ABC's Jack FM(TM) and eleven other 24-Hour Formats, including Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel and ESPN Radio, which is the exclusive network radio home of Major League Baseball, the NBA and the Bowl Championship Series.

Source: ABC Radio Networks

CONTACT: Holly Gleason, Joe's Garage, +1-615-269-3238, or Allen Brown,
Arista Nashville, +1-615-301-4300, or Bennett Kleinberg, for ABC Radio
Networks, +1-212-576-2700, bkleinberg@goodmanmedia.com

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