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The Avett Brothers' members are known for their live shows, which often bring hard-rock energy to their modern roots music.
March 18, 2009 - Hailing from North Carolina, The Avett Brothers' members embody the best elements of Southern roots music. Their vocals are earnest and earthy, they have a knack for musical storytelling and they obviously have an appreciation for family ties — singers Seth and Scott Avett are the guitarist and banjo player, respectively. The band also possesses an all-inclusive Southern musical sensibility: Its unique mix of folk, rock, country and bluegrass adds up to a uniquely catchy regional aesthetic.
The Avett Brothers will appear on NPR Music's nighttime South By Southwest showcase, presenting new songs from an album due out this summer. Listeners can hear the whole evening concert broadcast live from Stubb's Bar-B-Q in Austin, Tex., and archived online afterward, starting at 11 p.m. ET on Wed., March 18. (The Avett Brothers will take the stage around 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, after The Heartless Bastards but before The Decemberists.)
Neither a full-fledged bluegrass band nor a strict alt-country act, The Avett Brothers developed and refined its aesthetic over many years. Growing up, the genetic brothers Avett began performing in hard-rock bands, and only gradually turned to regional roots music starting around 2000. Throughout the decade that followed, the full Avett Brothers band emerged slowly through well-regarded live shows and frequent issues of albums, EPs and live recordings; the group's 2007 release Emotionalism was easily its most successful and widely heard to date.
The Avett Brothers' yet-to-be-titled new album was overseen by famed producer Rick Rubin and is slated for a July release. This will be the band's first time playing at SXSW.
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