Neon Union pairs veteran talent, country's growing sphere of pop influences

Jimmie Allen is more than a country music award-winner, chart-topper and the genre's fast-rising favorite male face in mainstream media. But when it comes to Neon Union -- the guitar-playing, singer-songwriter duo of Leo Brooks and Andrew Millsaps that he co-manages via his management and production company JAB Entertainment (with Aaron Benward) -- he's also become a guiding hand at the forefront of the genre's evolution.

Brooks is the formerly Miami-based child of Honduran parents with two decades of experience as a touring hip-hop bass guitarist, most recently famed for his work backing Pitbull. Like many Caribbean children, country music's impact via the genre's globalized 70s and 80s record distribution positively impacted his childhood. However, Millsaps has a decade of more conventional country experience. Born in the hills of northwestern North Carolina and after spending time as a high school and college athlete, he advanced his skills as a roots-driven singer-songwriter to the point of gaining acclaim at 2019's Merle Fest and becoming an aspiring mainstream country music performer.

Regarding how their disparate musical interests combine, Millsaps refers to the tandem as a "double walking jukebox" during a phone conversation the duo had with The Tennessean.

Brooks adds that the robust collections of artists, including George Jones, Hank Williams and Keith Whitley, have served as his musical inspirations for longer than the artists with whom he's worked in his career, including Lauryn Hill, John Legend and Pitbull, among many. Millsaps adds that the folk-rock act the Avett Brothers, plus country icons spanning from Alan Jackson to Jason Aldean, was a significant influence during his youth, being raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains and aspiring to be a songwriter.

Millsaps met Allen by happenstance while riding in a Music City elevator during one of his first trips to Nashville. He later recalled their meeting upon seeing him onstage at a Whiskey Jam event at midtown Nashville bar Winners and Losers. As for Brooks, Allen worked with Pitbull on his 2020 "Bettie James" album track "Flavor." The iconic Latin artist's team passed along the more country-tinged work Brooks had been working on with Pitbull's Mr. 305 Music. Upon seeing the success of Lil Nas X's 2019 "Old Town Road," he decided to move creatively in a direction more aligned with his personal interests.

Upon announcing their signing to JAB Entertainment in December 2021, Allen noted the following:

"Not only are they the first Black and white duo in country music history; they are insanely talented with great work ethic. Not only do they make great music, but they will change hearts. Ever since I heard Leo and Andrew play separately, I just knew they would make a perfect duo," Allen adds. "They have something special on their own, and when they come together, it's just magic."

More directly, the tandem achieves this by both being musically gifted enough to pursue creating sonic ties between mainstream pop and their own rooted interests in preserving classic country's sounds in the modern era.

Brooks' hip-hop and R&B background hasn't deterred his quick assimilation into pursuing country stardom. Instead, it's his determined hustle that saw him pick up the bass guitar to pursue work as a touring musician post-high school that has aided him in feeling heard and seen at songwriting rounds and in writing rooms around town.

For Millsaps, he's a 305-pound ex-all-conference high school offensive lineman with a massive red beard. In Nashville at present, looking as he looks, with his influences, his sound and style may be preconceived and stereotyped before he opens his mouth or strums his guitar.

"Setting yourself apart from others in this town is difficult, and..." before Millsaps could finish, Brooks interrupted him.

It's the first moment on the phone call where the dynamic that defines where they're headed musically becomes apparent.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the answer is that nobody and I mean, nobody, has the swagger that you do, Andrew."

Concerning their new single "Bout Damn Time," the uniqueness of the duo's talents at being able to synergize styles becomes apparent.

Though both Brooks and Millsaps are constantly songwriting, the song is an outside contribution from work crafted by Tyler Hubbard, HARDY, Hunter Phelps and Jordan Schmidt. The duo signed with Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus' Red Street Records in June 2022. A track of this caliber aligns well with DeMarcus' statement made upon their signing that he wants to capitalize on their "infectious [qualities that captivate a room]."

Dann Huff -- a multiple-time award-winning producer and musician credited as the producer of Lonestar's 2001 classic "Amazed" (among many country hits) plus credits with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Whitesnake -- produced "Bout Damn Time." Alongside Huff, the duo heard the demo and decided to refine the song's electronic pop elements in a more blues-driven rock direction.

Allen's proven to be a man of his management word by taking Neon Union out on the road almost as immediately as he signed them. They were his openers on his first career run of headlining events in 2022 -- the 16-date "Down Home" Tour of smaller concert halls and arenas.

The run was relatively easy for Brooks, given that he's been a touring musician for 20 years. For Millsaps, he'd mainly played gigs at local North Carolina and Virginia breweries -- playing essentially brand-new music to crowds with no knowledge of either him or the fact that he was in a new act -- proved daunting, but eventually able to overcome.

"Fans love that Neon Union represents a laid-back, zero-stress lifestyle where everyone can shine regardless of color or background and have a good time," says Millsaps about what allowed them to succeed as openers.

"Some people pursue country music success as a solo thing. But Leo and I are comfortable as a duo. We are humble and talented enough to realize the value of sharing the limelight."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Neon Union pairs veteran talent, country's growing sphere of pop influences