Kix Brooks and Briana Calhoun: Music, Redemption, and Second Chances (Episode 4)

Season 1 Episode: In this episode of Off the Record, host Lisa Konicki sits down with Kix Brooks (Brooks & Dunn) and Briana Calhoun for a conversation about music, redemption, and their shared mission behind Hope on the Inside—a nonprofit dedicated to empowering incarcerated individuals. "We were in a bad situation and experienced a lot of trauma," Calhoun shares. "It was eggshells every second I was awake. And when I was 16 years old, the sheriff's daughter of my very small town of Farmerville, Louisiana—she was 26, I was 16. My mom thought it was perfectly safe to leave my 16-year-old with her, and she got me hooked on meth. And I hadn't even smoked pot yet at the time. And I knew it was bad, but at the time I didn't care because I'd just been so depressed and anxious for so long. The episode also explores the pair’s partnership, including the five years it took to write their song “One More Shot. "She sends me [the line] a six-pack just talked me into whiskey, and she said, 'Do you think that's a song idea?' Brooks says. "I said, 'I think it may be. I kind of like that.' 'Would you write it with me?' she said. I said, 'Let's see if we can make something rhyme.' So I think we finished it two or three months ago. The duo talks about the mission behind Hope on the Inside and what’s next for the organization. It's an honest conversation about redemption, music, and the power of hope.