The lines between the once separate worlds of rock and country continue to blur. Blackberry Smoke have for some years traded on their ‘too rock for country, too country for rock’ tagline and the same is true of Brothers Osborne.

Reference sources describe them as country, and the number of check shirts and the odd cowboy hat in an all ages crowd would confirm that, yet they feature in classic rock magazines and radio stations and indeed my only previous sighting of them was at Download, of all places. That was early on in a meteoric rise which now saw them filling out the 5000 capacity Hammersmith Odeon, as it will always be.

Support came from Tyler Braden, a name new to me, but a former firefighter in his early thirties from Alabama, now based in Tennessee, in a flat cap and bushy ginger beard. Fronting a tight classic four-piece band, again he is a rising star under the country banner, but the opening pair of songs, the second of which was ‘More Than a Prayer’ sounded more like straight ahead rock to me, at least in this live setting.

Speaking movingly about the importance of reaching out for help, he slipped in a little of the Fray’s ‘How to Save a Life’ ahead of his own similarly themed song, ‘Call Me First’. Indeed, in a short set that seemed a trademark as he also covered snatches of ‘500 Miles’ and Elvis’ ‘Devil In Disguise’.

‘Thank Me For That’ had a series of massive hooks and was the biggest example of comparisons I found myself constantly drawing with Chris Daughtry, and ‘So Long’ showed off his gravelly and expressive voice like a young Eric Burdon. While single ‘Devil You Know’ was more obviously targeted at US country radio, it was again more than rocky and ended a very promising set.

After the interval music choice of Blackfoot and Skynyrd proved that point of those barriers coming down, from the moment the Brothers Osborne came on – supported by four other able musicians, all line astern towards the rear of the stage- they commanded the place.

They have a natural charisma and complementary attributes, singer TJ with a quiff and a slight Elvis-like curled lip and a sonorous voice, and guitarist John, long hair under a cowboy hat, the rock element. While never showy or attempting to be a virtuoso his generally short solos had the melodic feel of classic southern rock.

After a pair of brisk openers in ‘Might As Well Be Me’ and ‘Nobody’s Nobody’, ‘Shoot Me Straight’ featured some longer jamming, John playing solos while stepping on to a flight case. ‘Skeletons’ was uptempo and fun, most recent single ‘Break Mine’ more contemporary and poppier, but ‘Weed Whisky and Willie’ had more of an old school country feel.

There was a surprise in a very authentic cover of Tom Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’, followed by ‘I’m Not For Everyone’, while their best-selling hit to date ‘Stay A Little Longer’ had their fans punching the air. Normally a Bob Marley song is the cure for me to turn off the radio or TV, but ‘Two Little Birds’ actually proved a very effective vehicle for lengthy jamming including a fine Hammond organ solo from Johnathan Smith and audience participation.

From my vantage point near the front of the balcony, the downstairs was swaying as one during ‘Rum’, then they brought on a multi-million selling guest in Darius Rucker, coming on stage in unassuming fashion and enjoying many a joke and smile with the brothers as he helped out on ‘Guitars, Cadillacs’.

After ‘Burning Man’, main set closer ‘It Ain’t My Fault’ became a big jam featuring a synth solo from Johnathan, singalong and John taking the spotlight with a guitar solo, gifting an acoustic to a thrilled younger fan and having to fill in while a medical emergency in the crowd was taken care of. Remarkably, even when it ended the crowd continued to chant its highly hummable hook for a good couple of minutes and indeed it was still in my head days afterwards.

They slipped in three encores, all notably more concise- beginning in quite subdued fashion with ’21 Summer’ and ‘Heart Shaped Locket’ and working up to an almost punkish, yet bluegrass influenced hoedown in ‘Dead Man’s Curve’.

As a relative newbie I was very impressed. They adapted seamlessly to a bigger venue- there were no visuals, other than very good lighting, but the effortlessly charismatic brothers are adept at the big gestures needed to make a show of this size work. With the country scene expanding its reach and winning new fans all the time in the UK, expect their rise to continue.

Review by Andy Nathan

Photos by Paul Clampin

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 10 March 2025

THE SOUL REVIVAL Outlaw (indie)
WHEN RIVERS MEET Addicted To Love (indie)
ISABELLA STORM Satan’s Valentine (indie)
KEYSTONE Slow Down Honey (indie)
THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE Sleep Tonight (Metropolis Records)
SAWMOON Madness (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 10 March 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)