Brothers Osborne were recognized with the 2023 Angels Among Us Award for their “outstanding commitment” to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For nearly a decade, the country duo have been ambassadors for the children and families of St. Jude. As a result, the American Songwriter September/October cover stars were honored in Memphis, Tennessee, at the annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids seminar on Thursday (October 12).
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Ahead of the Angels Among Us Dinner, Brothers Osborne spoke with American Songwriter and other media about their experience at St. Jude and how inspiring moments, like visiting the children’s research hospital, have made their way into their songwriting.
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“St. Jude brings so much positivity in the world and as a parent, I just can’t be thankful enough for something like that,” John, a father to seven-month-old twins says. “To see it through a parent’s eyes is really heavy. It’s heavier than it’s ever been. It does not change the fact that [St. Jude] is literally a godsend. It’s something that’s so uplifting. They’re doing the Lord’s work, essentially, but it’s it feels heavier than it’s ever felt.”
Brother TJ adds that spending time at St. Jude throughout their career felt like “something we had to do.”
“When we have a time where we can step out of our thing and do something for someone else, we always jump with that because it really is the most fulfilling thing of what we do musically,” TJ says. “Anything we can do to try to change someone’s life has been something that we’ve always tried to keep very first in our priorities and trying to make somebody’s life better in any way.”
John shares that visiting St. Jude for the first time nearly a decade ago “had the biggest impact” on him. He adds that it’s something he thinks about more now, having children of his own.
“It’s never what people expect it to be,” he notes. “You go in there with a bit of trepidation and worry about it on paper, [thinking] it should be gloomy. And then you walk through there and it’s the most hopeful atmosphere on the planet and to meet those kids who at six years old have lived more life than people who are our age, and they have so much wisdom baked into their experience, it’s very impactful. It was very easy to get involved with St. Jude … once you visit, that’s it. You want to be a partner with St. Jude forever. The universe has been great to us. Now it’s time for us to do good to the universe and what better way to do that than through St. Jude?”
Country Cares for St. Jude Kids takes place October 12-14 on the St. Jude campus in Memphis.
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Photo courtesy of ALSAC
