The Avett Brothers

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]

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]

The band at Pickathon, Portland, Oregon, 2006

In 2004, the band released their third album, Mignonette, which featured polished harmonies, introspective lyrics and a sense of dedication that pushed the band to new heights.[11] The album, running longer than 70 minutes, included vocals by the Avetts' sister Bonnie Avett and their father Jim Avett.[12] Mignonette was named after an English yacht which sank off the Cape of Good Hope resulting in the cannibalism case R v Dudley and Stephens.[13]

In 2005, the band released Live, Volume 2, recorded at the Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte and King's Baracade in Raleigh, North Carolina. The album spanned material from their career up to that point.[14]

In early 2006, the band released Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions to much acclaim.[15] The album was recorded in a lake house in Robbinsville, North Carolina, over the course of 10 days and included collaborations with Paleface and Ian Thomas.[16] The album was titled Four Thieves Gone after Scott Avett realized their song "Denouncing November Blue" sounded identical to the Charlie Daniels song "Uneasy Rider", whom they ultimately credited with the songwriting.[16]

During extensive touring in support of the album Scott and Seth Avett produced The Gleam, an EP of intimate, stripped-down recordings, which was released in September 2006.[17] They were inspired to create the album as a duo after their experience writing and recording "Famous Flower of Manhattan" during the Four Thieves Gone sessions.[18]

The Avett Brothers at the Crystal Ballroom, Portland, Oregon, January 28, 2007

The band released Emotionalism on May 15, 2007. It debuted at the top of the Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums chart, number 134 on the Billboard 200 and number 13 on the Independent Artist Chart.[19] In support of the album the band made their national television debut on May 12 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien performing "Paranoia in B-Flat Major."[20] Emotionalism marked the first appearance of the cellist Joe Kwon who has since become a full-time touring and recording member of the band.[21]

On November 1, 2007, the Americana Music Association presented the Avett Brothers with two awards, as Duo/Group of the Year and as New/Emerging Artist of the Year.[22] In July 2008, the band released The Second Gleam, a stripped-down acoustic album like The Gleam.[23] In the same month, the band announced they had chosen Rick Rubin to produce their next album and were now signed to his American Recordings label.[24]

The Avett Brothers performing at the Outside Lands in 2009

From September 8 to October 8, 2009, the Avett Brothers released 13 short videos describing their music and fans in anticipation of their upcoming album, I and Love and You. The videos included clips from past concerts, fan interviews and interviews with the members of the band. I and Love and You, released on September 29, 2009, peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 best-selling albums chart, number 8 on the best-selling digital albums chart, number 7 on the rock albums chart, and number 1 on the folk albums chart.[25]

In the wake of the album's release the Avett Brothers appeared on late-night TV programs, including the Late Show with David Letterman,[26] The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,[27] and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[28] On January 21, 2010, the band was featured on the long-running PBS series Austin City Limits.[29]

In January 2010 drummer Jacob Edwards was added to the Avetts' touring lineup.[30] In the fall of 2010 the band released their third live album and first concert DVD, Live, Volume 3. The performance was recorded the previous year during the band's homecoming concert at Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.[31]

In early 2011, Avett Brothers bassist Bob Crawford learned that his daughter Hallie had a seizure due to a brain tumor. He took a hiatus from the band and was temporarily replaced by Langhorne Slim bassist Paul Defiglia.[32][33] Crawford returned to play with the band on the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011, performing "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise" and then joining Mumford and Sons and Bob Dylan for a performance of "Maggie's Farm."[34] After successful treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital his daughter's condition stabilized, and he returned to the band. The band kept Defiglia as a touring member, playing organ, double bass, and keyboard.[35]

In 2011, the band began the demo process for the followup to I and Love and You for a 2012 release, also produced by Rick Rubin. 24 songs were recorded.[36] On June 26, 2012, the Avett Brothers released a preview of the single "Live and Die" on NPR Music and announced that their sixth studio album, The Carpenter, would be released on September 11, 2012.[37] It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for the Grammy award for Best Americana Album at 55th annual Grammy Awards.[38] Jacob Edwards left the band in December 2012.[30][32] Mike Marsh, formerly the drummer of Dashboard Confessional, which recorded songs from I and Love and You, joined the band as a touring member at their annual New Year's Eve show in 2012.[39]

The Avett Brothers at the Bottlerock music festival, Napa, California, May 2013

On June 12, 2013, the Avett Brothers announced that a follow-up companion to The Carpenter would be released in the fall of 2013.[40] On July 27, at the Newport Folk Festival, the band announced that the new album would be entitled Magpie and the Dandelion. On August 8, they told NPR that Magpie and the Dandelion, which consisted mostly of songs recorded during sessions for The Carpenter, would be released on October 15, 2013. The NPR announcement also premiered their new single "Another Is Waiting."[41] The album was released to generally warm reviews and peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 during its first week.[42] Tania Elizabeth, who had recorded with the Avetts during the Magpie and the Dandelion sessions, began touring with the band on November 21, 2013.[43]

Near the end of May 2014, Seth Avett and Bob Crawford mentioned in different interviews they were recording demos for their next album, to be produced by Rick Rubin.[44] During their concert on December 13, 2014, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Seth and Scott mentioned they spent November recording songs for their upcoming album. In November 2015 Seth updated the release estimate to be "early 2016."[45]

On November 23, 2015, the band announced their fourth live album and second concert DVD, titled Live, Vol. Four would be released on December 18, 2015.[46] The live album was recorded at their concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 31, 2014. While touring in support of Live, Vol. Four the band spoke of their ninth studio album.[47]

On March 3, 2016, the band announced the expected release of their ninth full-length studio album, True Sadness, which Seth Avett described as "a patchwork quilt, both thematically and stylistically."[48] The album was released on June 24, 2016, and debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Top 200, topping the U.S. Folk and U.S. Top Rock charts,[19] though reviews were mixed. Entertainment Weekly praised the band's experimentation and "willingness to tear down boundaries"[49] while Pitchfork criticized the "baffling layers of synthesizers in what feels like a ploy to push the Avetts into clear Top 40 territory."[50] The album was nominated for two awards, Best Americana Album and Best Americana Roots Performance (the album's lead single, "Ain't No Man"), at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.[51] On January 31, 2017, it was announced that a documentary about the production of True Sadness, entitled May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, would premiere at the 2017 South by Southwest film festival.[52] The documentary was released on HBO on January 29, 2018.[53]

Also during this period, in October 2016, the band was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.[54] While the core four members of the band remained the same, however, the remaining line-up of the band continued to evolve. On August 18, 2017, the band announced that keyboardist Paul Defiglia would be leaving the band on September 3, 2017.[55] Scott and Seth's older sister Bonnie Avett Rini immediately joined them on tour playing piano.[56] And on August 27, 2018, Tania Elizabeth announced on Instagram that she was taking maternity leave from the band[57] but returned for the majority of their 2019 tour.

On December 21, 2017, Scott Avett mentioned in an interview that they were again working with producer Rick Rubin on new material.[58] Ten months later, in October 2018, the band debuted the song "Roses & Sacrifice" on Late Night with Seth Meyers,[59] and in an interview Scott Avett stated their next album would release the following year, in 2019, describing the album as “by no means a political record, but it’s more about blatant social and political issues than ever before."[60] The next month, on November 16, 2018, "Roses & Sacrifice" was released as a single on the American Recordings label,[61] with follow-up singles "Trouble Letting Go" and "Neapolitan Sky" released on December 21, 2018, and February 1, 2019, respectively.[62] On May 6 the band released "Sun, Flood, or Drought," a song featured in the documentary The Biggest Little Farm.[63] On June 13 the band announced that their next album would be titled Closer Than Together, to be released on October 4, 2019, and described as "informed by what is happening now."[64] The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard Americana/Folk charts[19] to mixed reviews.[65]

In a late February 2020 interview, Scott Avett stated "we plan to at least have another release this year if all goes well."[66] On June 29, 2020, the band announced the third installment of their Gleam series, The Third Gleam (stylized The Gleam III) would release on August 28, 2020.[67] It released to generally favorable reviews and was supported by two drive-in concerts at the Charlotte Motor Speedway to allow social distancing for the COVID-19 pandemic.[68] The Avett Brothers released a cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" on Friday, October 30, four days before the 2020 United States presidential election.[69]

In August 2019 the band announced that a stage musical based on their music, titled Swept Away, would debut at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in June 2020.[70] It was postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic, opening on January 9.[71][72]