HomeMusicBrothers Osborne O2 Forum Kentish Town London live review

Brothers Osborne O2 Forum Kentish Town London live review

Maryland duo Brothers Osborne have become one of country music’s most popular acts since the release of their debut album, Pawn Shop, in 2016. Following their much talked-about UK debut at C2C: Country to Country earlier this year and fresh from winning two CMA Awards last week, the band has now returned to support the Cadillac Three on their Long Hair Don’t Care Tour.

John and TJ arrived on stage to a raucous reception from the audience and launched into Down Home. The song’s grungy intro gave John the opportunity to show off his excellent guitar playing, whilst the bluesy tone and gravelly edge to TJ’s voice came through really strongly. They also had great energy on stage right from the off and it was clear that they were having a fantastic time up there.

Throughout the set the band played a selection of tracks from Pawn Shop, including Rum with its slinky laid-back groove and the driving railroad rhythm of Greener Pastures, which got a huge crowd reaction. They also played a new song, Shoot Me Straight, which had the thumping beat and rocky guitars which have become a staple of their sound and which I can see fast becoming a fan favourite.

However the highlight of the set for me was when the band brought out Lucie Silvas (who is married to band member John Osborne and also currently on tour in the UK) to duet with TJ on Loving Me Back. The song had a stripped back feel which was a nice contrast to the uptempo numbers from earlier in the set, and I thought Lucie and TJ’s voices blended nicely together.

The band finished their performance with the Southern rock-influenced Stay A Little Longer, before going into It Ain’t My Fault. It’s become a bit of a trademark song for them and its defiant lyrics and stomping rhythm got the crowd singing and clapping along (not that they needed much encouragement!). The set was rounded off by an awesome guitar riff from John that had a 70s classic rock feel and showed why he’s one of the best live guitarists in country music at the moment.

Overall Brothers Osborne delivered a fantastic set that definitely got the crowd in the party mood. It was a tight performance packed with fun songs, strong harmonies and brilliant guitar playing from John, and a great taster for their UK headline tour next May. Snap up tickets as fast as you can when they go on sale, because I suspect that their return visit is going to be a party you don’t want to miss. My only complaint was that the set was too short!

[brid video=”140344″ player=”531″ title=”Brothers Osborne It Ain’ My Fault”]

 

Set list: 1. Down Home 2. Rum 3. Greener Pastures 4. Shoot Me Straight 5. Loving Me Back (with Lucie Silvas) 6. Stay A Little Longer 7. It Ain’t My Fault Performance date: Tuesday 14th November 2017

Laura Cooney
Laura Cooney
Laura has been writing for Entertainment Focus since 2016, mainly covering music (particularly country and pop) and television, and is based in South West London.

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