COUNTRY STAR OF THE MONTH: BROTHERS OSBORNE

Sometimes a band has a name that indicates they are family even if they aren’t while some are flesh and blood relatives. The latter is the case with Brothers Osborne, John and TJ. Only a few years apart in age the two brothers grew up in Maryland on Chesapeake Bay in a house and family with musical roots. Both their parents were musicians as were aunts and uncles so it was only a matter of time before someone (or two) broke out to the big time. I remember a few years ago – way back in 2015 when a new group on the scene visited the Cavalier Theater in La Crosse. Not much was known about Brothers Osborne other than they had been tagged by many as an up-and-coming act in Country Music and then they released the song “Stay A Little Longer” which quickly became their first hit. They suddenly went from playing 200 seat venues to outdoor festivals and concert centers.

The brothers honed their skills during their high school years and performing in a battle of the bands competition. John went on to college in Nashville at Belmont University and TJ joined him in the city a few years later when he graduated. The two didn’t start out working together though. They both worked with other artists and bands until they decided that they should get back together and get themselves noticed. In 2011 they finally did enough to get recognized and get signed to a label. After a few years of getting themselves recorded and going on tour they finally had a hit in 2015 with “Stay A Little Longer” with listeners gravitating to their blues-rock sound and TJ’s low, comforting, yet powerful voice. The album Pawn Shop was released and spawned two more hits with “21 Summer” and the driving party hit “It Ain’t My Fault”. In 2018 they followed up with the album Port Saint Joe and the single “Shoot Me Straight” which is a powerful rock ‘n blues song that might not sound as good without TJ’s voice on it and John’s sliding guitar riffs. In 2019 they released the album Skeltons and the single “All Night”, but like all artists in the next few months thew pandemic would slow their roll a bit prompting them to do a re-release of the album in 2022. It was exciting moment this winter when it was announced they would be headlining the Saturday night of Country Boom in West Salem July 7th-9th.

Brothers Osborne have had success on the awards circuit as well by winning both an ACM and CMA for best vocal duo along with a CMA for best new group. Their style of blues and southern rock really gives them a unique sound in Country Music today. John’s guitar playing gives the group a voice beyond TJ’s vocals and you can quickly identify them when their music comes on. The catalog of songs dips into both the soulful side of music, but also into the fun side. Their latest single “I’m Not For Everyone” has been making its way up the charts steadily. When they hit the stage this year at Country Boom I think we can all expect the stage to become even more of a party than the weekend will already be.