The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers /ˈeɪvɪt/ are an American folk rock band from Concord, North Carolina.[2] The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett (banjo, lead vocals, guitar, piano, kick-drum) and Seth Avett (guitar, lead vocals, piano, hi-hat) along with Bob Crawford (double bass, electric bass, violin, backing vocals) and Joe Kwon (cello, backing vocals). Mike Marsh (drums), Tania Elizabeth (fiddle) and Bonnie Avett-Rini (piano) are touring members of the band.
The Avett Brothers
Following on from Seth and Scott's former rock band Nemo, The Avett Brothers combine bluegrass, country, punk, pop melodies, folk, rock and roll, indie rock, honky tonk, and ragtime to produce a novel sound described by the San Francisco Chronicle as having the "heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones."[3]
History[edit]
Beginnings (2000–2002)[edit]
Scott and Seth Avett have played music together since childhood as their grandmother was a concert pianist and their father Jim Avett was a guitarist.[4] Their collaborative partnership began in the late 1990s with the merger of Seth's Mount Pleasant High School rock band Margo and Scott's college group Nemo. Margo had released the song "Dumbfight" on a compilation album before merging with Nemo. After releasing three albums with Nemo, the Avetts started experimenting with acoustic music with some friends at night.[2] After a few street performances and parties they performed under the names The Back Porch Project or Nemo Downstairs. The brothers and Nemo guitarist John Twomey put together an EP entitled The Avett Bros in 2000 while performing both as the Avett Brothers (with Scott, Seth and John) and as Nemo.[5]
When Nemo broke up Scott and Seth continued to write acoustic music together. In early 2001 the stand-up bassist Bob Crawford, formerly of the Memphis Quick 50, joined the Avetts, and the band released their first full-length album, Country Was.[6] The Avett Brothers set out on a self-booked tour to promote the new album and in late 2002 began preparations for a follow-up.[7]
A Carolina Jubilee, Mignonette, and Four Thieves Gone (2003–2006)[edit]
After releasing a live album of original songs and covers entitled Live at the Double Door Inn[8] the brothers settled down to compile a new full-length album. During this time the band began a partnership with Dolph Ramseur, a local label owner who had been impressed by the group's live show and original material.[9] After 70 hours in the studio, the band recorded the album A Carolina Jubilee, released by Ramseur Records in 2003. Unlike their previous albums, A Carolina Jubilee demonstrated the band's genre-crossing writing and performing.[10]
Recording members
Touring musicians
Previous members
Timeline
Studio albums
In popular culture[edit]
References to and lyrics by The Avett Brothers feature prominently in Slammed, a New York Times best-selling romance novel by Colleen Hoover [82]
Swept Away: A New Musical, consisting of songs from various Avett Brothers albums, premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2022.[83]
