Brothers Osborne Talk Crazy on-Tour Antics, Fan Encounters and Having Dierks Bentley As a Boss
The Brothers Osborne have experienced no shortage of wild fan interactions, but one particularly enthusiastic UK fan recently found an especially -- ahem -- creative way to make an impression on the duo.
"We were in Northern Ireland, in Belfast, and all of the sudden, I see something flying onstage," TJ Osborne recalled to The Boot and other media outlets backstage at the 2018 CMA Music Festival. "I thought it was a bra. I looked down, and it was a dude's underwear.
"John reached down to pick it up and put it on his mic stand, and I was like, 'No, no, no, don't do that!'" Osborne continued with a laugh. "Whoever took them off didn't just take them off, he ripped them off."
"He was still wearing his pants!" John Osborne interjects. "I was disgusted, yet I respected him."
The sibling duo will undoubtedly experience many more antics on the road this summer. Along with fellow openers Lanco, Brothers Osborne are on tour with Dierks Bentley for his Summer 2018 Mountain High Tour, and they're enjoying all of the unconventional backstage activities Bentley has to offer.
"He has this crazy Tesla coil machine that emits this energy, and and you stand around it and do these weird breathing exercises," John explains. "Whether it works or not, I don't know, but it is absolutely hilarious."
No strangers to the weirder side tour life themselves, the Osbornes fit right in with the other Mountain High Tour acts' fun-loving sensibilities.
"I don't know if you've seen the promo video for the tour, but it's essentially a shaman with dreadlocks in the woods drinking psychedelic tea, and we were in the woods and had to pretend we were tripping on crazy psychedelics," John adds, laughing. "We were like, 'Oh yeah, we got this. No problem.' Maren Morris was like, 'What are you guys, method actors?'"
Despite the tourmates' emphasis on fun -- and perhaps a little recreational substance use -- the most important thing the three acts have in common is a sense of gratitude, respect and wanting to be present in the moment.
"In this business, it's really hard not to get wrapped up in everything," John admits. "Dierks has made it a point to stay very present and in the moment, and to know that what matters most is his health and his family and his friends. It's one of the many things we're learning from the guy every day."
At the onset of the tour, Bentley made it clear to the other artists that every aspect of the backstage area -- including a masseuse, a trainer and a spiritual advisor called a duru -- was available to them. Adds John, "He's very open with everything. A lot of times on tour. there can be this strange hierarchy, where you've got headlining artists and supporting artists, and you can go here and here but not here, or you need a pass to go there, that kind of thing. With Dierks, it's an open door policy."
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