2013–2016: Career rise and Pawn Shop In 2013, Brothers Osborne released their debut single titled "
Let's Go There." The uptempo song became a minor hit, reaching the top 40 hit on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Its limited radio success led their record label to hold off on releasing a full album. Following its release, several music journalists named the pair on new artists lists, such as "Best of What's Next" or "Ones to Watch." Their third single "
Stay a Little Longer" was issued in 2015. The song was originally included on their 2014 EP, but was re-recorded for the single release. "Stay a Little Longer" became the duo's first major hit, reaching the top five of the
Billboard country chart.
Pawn Shop peaked at number three on the
Billboard country albums chart and number 17 on the Billboard 200.
Pawn Shop received four stars from
Allmusic's
Stephen Thomas Erlewine who called it "busy, but never overstuffed." Andrew Unterberger of
Spin commented that the album was "setting the bar for the genre in 2016." Two additional singles were spawned following the record's release that later became hits: "
21 Summer" and "
It Ain't My Fault." This song was also released as a single, charting at number 52 on Country Airplay late in the year.
2018–2022: Port Saint Joe and Skeletons In early 2018, the brothers announced the release of their second studio record titled
Port Saint Joe. The album was named for the town of the
same name, which was also where the duo recorded it. Its lead single was the song "
Shoot Me Straight". It later reached the top 30 of the
Billboard country songs chart.
Port Saint Joe was officially released in April 2018 via EMI Nashville. Like its predecessor,
Port Saint Joe was produced by Jay Joyce. Joseph Hudak of
Rolling Stone described the record as "a concise, 10-song effort." Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it a "clever, smart, adventurous, and hooky, creating a slow-rolling good-time vibe that doesn't lose its luster with repeated plays." Between 2018 and 2019, the brothers were part of several collaborative projects. In mid-2018, they were featured on
Dierks Bentley's "
Burning Man", a single from his studio album
The Mountain. The song became their biggest hit since "Stay a Little Longer", climbing to the top five of the
Billboard country songs chart. In 2019, the duo collaborated with
Maren Morris on a duet for her studio album
Girl. They also joined
Brooks & Dunn on their 2019 album
Reboot, where they contributed to a re-recording of that duo's 1993 hit "
Hard Workin' Man". Brothers Osborne were later nominated by the
Country Music Association for their recent collaborative projects. In spring of 2019 The Brothers Osborne were featured guests on the PBS concert series
Bluegrass Underground (now re-branded as
The Caverns Sessions). In October 2019, they released a live album recorded during three concerts at the
Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. This was followed in July 2020 by the announcement of a third studio album, titled
Skeletons, which later was later released in October 2020. Also produced by Jay Joyce, the album included songs written by the brothers, with several Nashville songwriters.
Skeletons debuted in the top five of the country albums chart and the top 50 on the Billboard 200. The album's first charted single is "
All Night."
Skeletons received a favorable response from Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who rated the project four and half stars. Erlewine praised the duo's mixing of different styles and recognized that the brothers had become "comfortable in the skin." Erlewine concluded by saying, "...the great thing about Skeletons is how it sounds like they're appealing to wide quadrants of rock, pop, country, and Americana audiences without sounding like anything but themselves." Jonathan Bernstein of
Rolling Stone rated
Skeletons at three and a half stars. Bernstein commented that the record is "a remarkably engaging country-leaning rock record that shows off what the duo does best." At the end of 2021, the duo announced that they would be re-releasing
Skeletons in 2022 with three additional songs. The first of these is "
Younger Me", a song released as a promotional single earlier in 2021. This song was also nominated that year for
Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Also included are "Headstone" and "Midnight Rider's Prayer", the latter of which incorporates elements of
Willie Nelson's "
On the Road Again". In November 2022, Brothers Osborne and
The War and Treaty covered
The Rolling Stones' "
It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" on the
Country Music Association awards. Brothers Osborne provided backing vocals to
Ashley McBryde's 2022 album
Lindeville, on which John also served as producer.
2023–present: Brothers Osborne and Break Mine The duo released three new songs in March 2023: "
Nobody's Nobody", "Might as Well Be Me", and "Roller Coaster (Forever and a Day)". The first of these was sent to radio as a single that same month, debuting at number 37 on Country Airplay. On July 14, 2023, the brothers released the song "Sun Ain't Even Gone Down Yet" and announced that their upcoming
self-titled fourth album would be released on September 15, 2023. Unlike their previous albums,
Brothers Osborne was produced by
Mike Elizondo. On February 29, 2024, the duo announced that their second EP
Break Mine will be released on March 22, 2024. John Osborne re-teamed with Ashley McBryde to produce her fifth studio album
Wild, which was released on May 8, 2026. ==Musical stylings==