The first time I met Adam and David Moss, a.k.a. The Brother Brothers, they were seated next to me and Judy Blank at dinner during Down By The River festival in Venlo in 2019. We must have agreed to film a session at some point right there and then, but for obvious reasons, we had to wait until September 2022 to meet up at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, where we filmed covers of James Taylor’s You Can Close Your Eyes, Jackson Browne’s These Days and their gorgeous unreleased ode to John Prine; Dear John.

“Something about siblings singing together”

Their latest release is covers album Cover to Cover, which features many great covers of artists like James Taylor and Jackson Browne, but also Judee Sill, The Beatles, Tom T. Hall and Tom Waits. It was Calla Lily, their second album of originals, though that got me hooked. There’s just something about siblings singing together – there have been quite a few of those on this website by now, for instance The Staves, The Secret Sisters, Tangarine, The Wood Brothers and Clean Pete. Adam and David have that same advantage of singing together from a very young age and their brotherly bond was noticeable during the filming of this session.

“John Prine was the master of simplicity.”

“One of David’s heroes, John Prine, got sick early in the spring of 2020. “I don’t normally get worried about someone I don’t know when they get sick, but with John Prine I was worried like it was a family member,” he recalls. “I sat down and wrote the whole thing in an hour or so. Dear John really gets to the core of the effect our heroes have on us. When something you do well seems more difficult than usual, it is a true master that can make it not just look easy, but can make you realize that it is, in fact, easy. An ode to John Prine, the master of simplicity.

“We are looking forward to showcasing this new song in the coming weeks on our tour through Europe and are hoping it gives both us and our audience a chance to reflect on the people that make our lives special and why.”

On the road again.

The Brother Brothers will be on tour in Europe soon. I for one am looking forward to catching them at TakeRoot festival in Groningen, November 4th. Find their full tour dates right here.

Photos

Keep watching

Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these earlier ones by Michaela Anne and Judy Blank.