Branch & Dean Talk Abilene, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation + More

Branch & Dean are coming to Abilene for the Taste of Country Concert Series on Friday (7/11), and as they prepare for their first show in the Big Country, they took the time to visit with the KEAN 105 Afternoon Show to talk about their music, how the got involved with the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation and more.

Steve Branch and Dean Scallon have been friends since they were kids, so their story differs from a lot of the usual Nashville country duets. And the years they have known each other shows in their music.

We know this is the first opportunity for Branch & Dean to come to Abilene, but I asked the guys how often they have the opportunity to play in Texas, "Branch and I are national ambassadors for Cystic Fibrosis...so we've been on radio tour and we visit all the CF chapters. You know, there's one in Houston and one in San Antonio, so we're starting to get out there. We're kind of still new to the scene, but we've been really blesses."

'The Dash' is a heartfelt song that is personal to the duo. The song addresses the subject of making the decision to live a purposeful life. Dean tells us, "We say it a lot, 'Music is intended to change lives', and you just never know sometimes when you write a song, the purpose it's gonna have. And this one's changed our lives tremendously." Steve Branch adds, "The Dash was put together, and we decided to use it [to honor] my son, because passed away from Cystic Fibrosis. When he passed away, one of the things he wanted to do was be a spokesperson for Cystic Fibrosis, and honestly, I didn't know how big CF was. There's chapters everywhere, like Dean was saying. If I'd have known that, we'd have been involved before my son had passed away. He would have really loved that...we told them our story, and told them about my son, and they knew about my son...and they said, 'You know, we want to do something special with you guys. We want to make you national celebrity ambassadors for CF'. So we get to go around, visit chapters and meet all the great people. Anybody that has an illness of any kind, we have found that they have a special gift of love and putting other people first, and not worry about themselves. And wow, that's amazing in itself. And that's what 'The Dash' is about.". As a result of their involvement, part of the proceeds from Branch & Dean's debut album go toward the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Steve and Dean talk about another one of their songs, 'Your Ol' Lady's Gone', and how it lead to the start of Branch & Dean. The Hank Williams, Sr.-influenced song, simply explained, helps bridge the gap from old to new country. Steve Branch explains, "That song has been so instrumental in our career, we get to go to Japan to play in October because it did really well overseas. It's just a fun song, and if you really listen to the lyrics, all it's talking about is, music's a melting pot nowadays, and there's a lot of different kinds of music. But every now and then, some good old country music still exists and applies."

Take a listen to the entire conversation with Branch & Dean here:

As they mentioned in our conversation, Branch & Dean are excited to come and meet new friends and fans in Abilene at the Lucky Mule Friday night. And their show promises to be a great one.