The Last Song They Sang for Him: Brooks & Dunn pay tearful tribute to Brandon Blackstock at private Nashville funeral
In the stillness of a cool Nashville morning, the chapel at Woodlawn Memorial Park sat bathed in soft light. There were no flashing cameras, no reporters at the door — just the quiet hum of friends, family, and the country music community gathering to say goodbye to Brandon Blackstock, 47, the music manager and former husband of Kelly Clarkson, who passed away earlier this month.
Among those slipping quietly through the side entrance were Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, the legendary duo behind Brooks & Dunn. They didn’t come to speak from the pulpit or deliver prepared words. Instead, they came with guitars in hand, to give Brandon the send-off they felt he deserved — one rooted in music, not speeches.
When the first notes of The Long Goodbye rang out, the chapel fell still. The 2001 hit, once a chart-topper, took on an entirely different meaning in that moment. Kix’s voice was warm but heavy with emotion, while Ronnie’s trademark high, aching harmonies cut straight through the silence. This wasn’t a performance. It was a prayer.
Sitting near the casket, Reba McEntire — Brandon’s mother and a longtime friend and collaborator of Brooks & Dunn — kept her eyes fixed on the two men. Her hands clasped tightly, she seemed to hang on to every word. Behind her, fellow mourners including Blake Shelton, Trisha Yearwood, and Garth Brooks sat with heads bowed.
Every lyric landed differently under the weight of grief: “This is the long goodbye, somebody tell me why…” No one in the room could ignore the way Ronnie’s voice caught on the final line, or how Kix closed his eyes as the last chord faded naturally into the air.
When the song ended, no one moved. There was no applause, only a profound silence that seemed to stretch on forever. A silence that felt sacred — carrying the weight of a goodbye no one wanted to say.
For many there, it wasn’t just the end of a service. It was the closing of a chapter in Nashville’s tight-knit music family — one marked by love, loss, and a song that will never sound the same again.
