Brothers Osborne: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Lyndsey McKenna | May 26, 2021
Since last year, many musicians have had to confront their own version of the "if a tree falls in a forest" thought experiment: If you release a new album but can't tour, will the music still resonate for listeners stuck at home? On their superb 2020 album, Skeletons, Brothers Osborne — a country duo that's long challenged the conventions of country and still managed to top the charts — intentionally turned up the volume to create a stadium-sized sound. The problem? "We put it out and performed it nowhere," John Osborne told Morning Edition.

For their Tiny Desk (home) concert, brothers John and T.J. scale to fit the setting – John's wood-panelled Nashville living room furnished with plenty of guitars and a tiny desk featuring a Maryland flag mug – but refuse to dial down the intensity. Opening with the explosive instrumental track "Muskrat Greene," Brothers Osborne and their collaborators use their set to showcase the very best of Skeletons. As on the record, they transition immediately into "Dead Man's Curve," a track that's the ideal interplay between John's fiery guitar and T.J.'s singular vocal stylings.

"I hope it's good," T.J. confesses near the concert's conclusion. "We really haven't been performing a lot for obvious reasons." If John and T.J. can create this incendiary of an experience from a living room, just imagine hearing the anthems "I'm Not For Everyone" and "Hatin' Somebody" surrounded by thousands of fellow fans this fall.

SET LIST
"Muskrat Greene"
"Dead Man's Curve"
"Skeletons"
"Hatin' Somebody"

MUSICIANS
John Osborne: electric guitar, vocals
T.J. Osborne: acoustic guitar, vocals
Adam Box: drums
Pete Sternberg: bass
Jason Graumlich: utility
Gabe Dixon: keys
Matt Heasley: accordion

CREDITS
Video: Reid Long
Audio: Logan Hanna, Courtney Warner

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Ann Powers
Video Producer: Maia Stern
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Associate Producer: Bobby Carter
Tiny Production Team: Kara Frame, Bob Boilen
Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

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