said, we ' re a songwriting-based band, and writing a song is a hundred times more difficult than writing a film score. Film scoring is a craft that there are certain things that always work. Songwriting is an art, and my brother is much more prolific at songwriting. Sometimes he gets in a bloom, and they just come one after the next. For me, if I write a song once a year, that ' s good for me.
I see that you perform“ Footloose” in your stage performances, Kevin. Is that something you always do as part of your lineup?
Kevin: Yeah, pretty much.
Why is it that? Is it because people are anticipating it or hoping that it will be performed?
Michael: I don ' t think so. It ' s got to be thousands of times that we’ ve played that song. We are entertainers, and as an entertainer, you don ' t want to hold back anything from the audience and say,“ Well, you know, that’ s not our song, and that was 40 years ago.” And, as Kevin says,“ Have you been to the theater lately?” When you see the smiles on people ' s faces and dancing and just having a great time. That ' s our job. We appreciate the amount of money and time they give. It ' s shocking how much it costs to go to any show now. That’ s my reason we do it.
You latest album, Ballad of the Brothers, was released in 2024. How does creating an album and coming up with the songs evolve? Is it a group effort?
Michael: Well, I would love to tell you that we had some grand plan. It just isn’ t. If you ' re in a songwriter’ s band, you ' re always trying to think of of new songs, but the mood that you get into to access what creates a song is extremely elusive. We have a place up in the Adirondacks where it is completely disconnected from the real world. That ' s a place that once I start to relax, I tend to write up there.
Who writes most of the songs?
Michael: I would say Kevin writes more than I do. It’ s probably split 66 / 34.
And how do you balance acting with music, Kevin? Does one art form influence the other?
Kevin: Yeah, I think so. If I connect to what the song is about, I can perform it better. That ' s really true in acting, too.
— Anastasia Stanmeyer
Kevin and Michael Bacon perform at The Cabaret Theatre(" The Cab ") at Mohegan Sun on Saturday, September 13, at 7 p. m. For more information on this 21 + show, go to mohegansun. com. Check out The Bacon Brothers’ full tour schedule at baconbros. com.
Fall 2025 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 13