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TJ Osborne tells Fancy Hagood about the biggest surprise he’s had since coming out

Fancy is celebrating one year of Trailblazers Radio by welcoming one his first ever guests, T.J. of the Brothers Osborne. They discuss what it’s been like for T.J. since he came out, country music fashion, as well as share some of their favorite funny stage stories.

Tune in and listen to the conversation anytime on-demand at apple.co/_TrailblazersRadio.

Listen to the Trailblazers curated companion playlist.

T.J. Tells Apple Music About the Biggest Surprise Since His Coming Out Time Magazine Article

TJ: It was certainly an immediate surprise, the level of acceptance. And I think a lot of the others… The biggest surprise to me honestly was I didn’t think I… My game plan was to come out and just kind of move on and not talk about it much anymore. And after the fact, I realized that it really was something that if I wasn’t talking about it, that it really wasn’t visibility.

I did feel instantly this urge to actually talk about it. And maybe in some scenarios where people mostly wouldn’t. You think, “Okay, we’re in a certain scenario here.” You can paint them in your minds where you might be and not talk about those topics is where I found myself actually wanting to talk about it more because it’s needed most. That was a huge surprise to me, I did not think that would be my natural impulse or inclination.”

FANCY: I think I feel the same way just as someone watching from the sideline. The support that poured in and just the… I mean, my favorite thing is being at a show of y’alls. Or even being at Stagecoach and seeing y’all perform to such a large audience, that it was just really impactful for me as queer a person in Nashville doing music. I’m like, “Man, really anything is possible.

TJ: Yeah. Like in those moments, like Stagecoach being one of them, I think I even said something discussing that. Again, I didn’t plan on saying anything. Just in the moment I was like, “Wow.” I almost felt like crying because it was like I never ever thought I would be at this place in my life. And it really is, it’s a very beautiful thing to experience.

Fancy and T.J. Discuss Creative Expression

FANCY: My favorite thing about creative expression is I feel like it gives other people permission to kind of do the same thing.

TJ: Yeah, I agree. And I think that you’ve shown that more than anyone. And I think part of coming out was having you as a friend and seeing what that was like to people. And I think that is a cool thing now with these shows, is obviously we see more people, I don’t know if there’s more gay people coming, or they just feel more comfortable showing that side of themselves or wearing… holding up pride flags or just letting their freak flag fly or whatever that is.

There’s just lots of people that just feel licensed to be themselves. And I’ve seen that with lots of straight couples or whatever. Oddly, that’s another thing that was surprising. There was a lot of guys who were like, “Man, you know what. Me and my girlfriend love you, I’m still a huge fan.” And that honestly meant so much to me. It felt like it didn’t need to be said, but then when I heard it was like, “Wow, that’s awesome. That’s really cool.”

Brothers Osborne
Credit: Apple Music / Trailblazers Radio

T.J. Shares an Interesting On-Stage Experience at a Recent Show

There was this show we had recently in Canada. And there was this guy who kept holding these spoons in the air. And again, for you listeners who maybe are not privy to this, maybe it’s just a thing. I’m in country music and everyone knows this in country. But playing the spoons, it’s really hillbilly thing.

Most of our fame comes from West Virginia so I have a soft spot in my heart for someone wanting to play the spoons. Yes, you can play the spoons. And so this guy’s out there and he keeps yelling up to us and he’s like, “Hey, I play the spoons.” And I’m ignoring him because I’m like, “I don’t… this guy’s going to come up here, it’s going to be a shit show. I’m just not doing this.” And finally his friends start being like, “Hey.” And they’re pointing at him and I’m like, “Well, this guy must be amazing.” And so I stopped and I’m like, “Are you good at the spoons?” And he is like, “I’m amazing.” And I’m like, “Well, you better be because I’m bringing you up here. And if you’re not don’t make me regret this.”

So we grab him, pull him up on stage and he has the spoons but he can’t seem to get a grip on them. And the whole band’s just kind of amping. They’re like, “Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun.” And he’s like trying to play them but he can’t keep a grip. And it takes him probably, I don’t know, 30, 45 seconds to start which felt like a half an hour. And then he finally starts going to town on these spoons. And I’m sorry if you’re listening to this, it was what I thought was going to happen. It was not amazing, other than the fact that it was a spectacle which people then loved so it was worth it.

So he gets up on the mic and he goes, “Told ya.” And I thought he was talking to us like, “I told you I could play the spoons.” So we get done with the set, he was playing there… he was up there for our last song on the night. And then security comes rushing up on stage and they grab him and come to find out that he was actually kicked out of the festival. And he told security, he’s like, “I’m going to get back in here.” And not only did he get back in, but I pulled him up on stage with me. And when he said, “Told you,” he was talking to the security of the entire festival. And I was like, “This guy.”

Then he went to go to our bus and hang out afterward. And they were like, “No, okay, this is where this train ends.”

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