Sylvan Cellars’ Summer Concert Series comes to a close Saturday, July 20, with a country music bang.

The third concert of the series, which included Drake White on June 15 and Barenaked Ladies on July 13, will be the Grammy-winning Brothers Osborne with support from Caitlyn Smith and local acts Northport Road and The Hubie Ashcraft Band.

Growing up around music

Growing up in a musical family in the small fishing town of Deale, Maryland, John Osborne and his younger brother TJ got their start by playing for family and friends in their father’s shed. Eventually, John made the move every aspiring country artists makes: He moved Nashville, Tennessee, albeit to attend Belmont University. 

Two years later, TJ was right there with him.

Despite being together in Nashville, the two got into separate bands before getting together. The duo began turning heads ,and they  signed with a EMI Records Nashville in 2012.

In 2016, the two released their debut full-length album, Pawn Shop, which reached No. 3 on Billboard’s country albums chart. 

Along with hits “21 Summer” and “It Ain’t My Fault,” the album featured the hit single “Stay a Little Longer,” which was nominated for a Grammy. Though the song lost out to Little Big Town in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance, the brothers did take home the Vocal Duo of the Year at the 2016 Country Music Awards. They also won that category a year later, as well as the CMA award for Music Video of the Year for “It Ain’t My Fault.” 

In total, Brothers Osborne have won seven CMAs, seven Academy of Country Music Awards, and a Grammy.

Keeping momentum

Following their debut album, Brothers Osborne reached even higher levels with 2018’s Port Saint Joe, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard chart off the strength of singles “Shoot Me Straight” and “I Don’t Remember Me (Before You).” The album also earned a Best Country Album Grammy nomination.

Along with their own success, 2018 was also a good year for Brothers Osborne as their song with Dierks Bentley, “Burning Man,” won an ACM award for Music Event of the Year.

Critical acclaimed continued with 2020’s Skeletons, which was again nominated for a Grammy for Country Album of the Year off the strength of singles “All Night” and “Younger Me.” 

Although they did not win the Grammy in that category in 2020, “Younger Me” did win the duo their first Grammy in seven attempts at the 2022 ceremony for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

“Younger Me” saw the Brothers Osborne get personal as the song chronicled TJ Osborne’s journey to coming out as gay.

Getting personal

The personal songs continue on their latest full-length album, Brothers Osborne, in 2023.

“We’ve always had a lot of mystery intentionally around the things we have done,” TJ Osborne said on the band’s website. “But with this album, we decided to be all in. And doing that reminded me of what it was like when I first started playing music, when it was an outlet for my angst or just a way to have fun.” 

“Since our last record, we’ve been very forthcoming with who we are,” John Osborne said. “By acknowledging TJ’s personal life and my mental-health struggles, we are more ourselves creatively and publicly than we’ve ever been. So, it’s time to lean into who we are.”

Brothers Osborne also released an EP, Break Mine, in March.

On their latest venture, the brothers opted to break from producer Jay Joyce, who had worked on their previous three albums. Instead, they opted to bring in Mike Elizondo, who has worked with the likes of Keith Urban, Turnstile, and Fiona Apple.

“We made a conscious decision very early on to make a hard turn into territories where we’ve never been before,” John Osborne said. “Mike Elizondo is an avid instrument collector, specifically of guitar pedals and synthesizers, and we wanted to incorporate that. The song that bridges the gap between this album and our last is ‘Younger Me,’ which was very synth heavy. That’s the tie that binds Skeletons and the new album.”

“Nobody’s Nobody” has a rocking feel off the latest record, while the brothers got a helping hand with the song “We Ain’t Good at Breaking Up,” which was co-written by Miranda Lambert, and even includes the vocals she attached to the demo.

“We wanted this album to be just John and me — which is why we’re self-titling it — but Miranda’s voice is like an instrument,” TJ Osborne said. “You don’t hear a lot of female vocals on our songs, and it helped create a tone and a texture.”

Regardless of your favorite Brothers Osborne song — or sound — you’re sure to get something you like when the guys stop by Rome City.