Brothers Osborne teamed up with Cody Johnson on an anthem that opens the duo’s fifth studio record, Watertown.

The award-winning duo, made up of brothers John Osborne and TJ Osborne, delivered an 11-track record that “anchors itself in the sound and spirit of Brothers Osborne’s beginnings – honest, rough-edged, and rural, and built with a blue collar work ethic,” according to a press release issued on Friday morning (October 23). John Osborne, Lee Miller and Kendell Marvel wrote the opening track, and Nick Swift directed the music video that premiered alongside the album’s release. Brothers Osborne filmed the visual with Johnson in Nashville, Tennessee, staging a garage show interspersed with vintage flashback scenes.

“Grateful to have our brother Cody Johnson join us on the tune that kicks off Watertown, ‘Born and Raised Hell,’” John Osborne said in a statement. “Whether it’s the Chesapeake Bay or the Trinity River, we sure gave our water towns hell. You’re salt of the earth, COJO.”

“Born and Raised Hell” feat. Cody Johnson (John Osborne, Lee Miller, Kendell Marvel)
“R.I.P.” (TJ Osborne, Hunter Phelps, Alysa Vanderheym)
“Family Business” (John Osborne)
“High” (John Osborne, Lucie Silvas)
“Bottle It Up” (Dan Isbell, Josh Kear, Paul Sikes)
“Ain’t Killed Me Yet” (TJ Osborne, Jesse Frasure, Jacob Hackworth)
“Doors” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Jesse Frasure, Lee Miller, Chris Pixton)
“Stubborn” (Devin Dawson, Josh Kerr, Matt Roy, Lydia Vaughan)
“Tough Kid” feat. Stephen Wilson Jr. (John Osborne, Pete Good, Lee Miller)
“Same Ol’ Different Story” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Kendell Marvel)
“Watertown” (John Osborne)

Watertown marked a few “firsts” for the Grammy-, CMA- and ACM-winning duo, including the first time they’ve included collaborations on a full studio album. Brothers Osborne featured Johnson and Stephen Wilson Jr. on the project, the press release noted.

“We’re not just getting back to where we were born and raised, but to the roots of where we started musically,” TJ Osborne said in a statement of the Jay Joyce-produced album. “A time when music wasn’t dictated by anything other than what our hearts and souls wanted to say.”

“It’s been three long years since we’ve released music. It’s been over 2 decades since we left home. Time passes and things change, but where you were born and raised stays just as you left it. Even if only in your memory,” Brothers Osborne shared. “We were shaped by the Watertown we grew up in. A working class haven, home to some of the most brutally honest people you’ll ever meet. And you’ll love them for it. This one’s for you Deale, MD. We are and will always be 20751.”

Watertown follows Brothers Osborne’s self-titled album in 2023, Skeletons in 2020, Port Saint Joe in 2018, and their 2016 debut, Pawn Shop. Find Watertown on iHeartRadio here, and watch the “Born and Raised Hell” video with Johnson below.

Bob Delmont