The Avett Brothers have apparently made it.‚ I lost touch with popular music years ago, but in recent days I found new hope that our culture isn’t fully engulfed in Idol manufactured pop stars. In each of these instances, The Avett Brothers were front and center:
- My wife was listening to one of her pop radio stations in Atlanta and I was shocked when “I And Love And You” emerged in regularly scheduled programming.
- I was shopping for bedroom furniture and “January Wedding” played throughout the furniture store.
- I tried to purchase tickets two months in advance for The Avett Brothers show at The Fox Theater in Atlanta and not only was it sold out, but the best I could find were two orchestra level tickets on Craigslist for $100 each (It was worth it).
In the old days, my panties got in a twist whenever one of my favorite bands “made it” and no longer remained my little secret. Not any more. With the state of affairs in the music industry, I celebrate the wins nowadays. I’m tired of seeing great bands suffer from under appreciation and The Avett Brothers deserve better.
The Avett Brothers have been busting their asses for nearly a decade and have kept their souls in tact. They haven’t once sacrificed their trademark sound or unique brand of songwriting, so I hope the early indicators are right. I hope they’ve finally reached pop status because it means they’ll get the audience they deserve and it also means that the audience that discovers them will benefit greatly. Those fans will soon find more amazing bands dwelling just below the surface. Opening acts on The Avett tour would be great starts – Langhorne Slim and The Low Anthem.
Video: The Avett Brothers – January Wedding
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
The NYTimes this weekend mentioned that Dirty Projects sold as many albums last year as Lady GaGa sells in a week. Where do the Avett Brothers fall in this spectrum?
As a New York native who never listened to country until I knew “alt-country” existed, have no idea how a band like this resonates in the south. Do the same people who listen to Toby Keith (unironically) listen to Avett Brothers?
I doubt Avett is on the pop-country stations, so I doubt the Toby Keith crowd is listening. I think that’s been the problem with alt-country – finding a home with any mainstream crowd. Hopefully Avett can break the mold with their new album that is more accessible to all comers – especially with radio (and furniture store) friendly songs like I mentioned above.
It’s a great step in the right direction for mainstream music in general. I started to feel the same way about Kings of Leon until I really thought about it. It was a huge step in a direction of mainstream music to just start playing music that is better, although the radio killed those songs for me, I’m happy that they are out there getting what they deserve for the great music they make.
that the avett brothers were booked at the Fox should’ve been your first clue.
@Kyle – I was waiting for the Kings of Leon mention. I think KOL has alienated way more of their original fan base than Avett . They seem to have migrated their sound way more to mainstream audiences while, in the case of Avett, the mainstream is migrating to them.
Good for them. And I agree with your assessment of them and KOL. Use Somebody could be the worst song of 2009.
I saw them play just last night in Dallas. Great show replete with broken banjo strings, sweaty wife beaters and awe-inducing energy. How those guys are able to perform at that level night after night baffles me. The cherry on top was an end-of-show sing along to my personal favorite, “I Would Be Sad.”
And if last night’s crowd is any indication, the Avetts have definitely reached a point where their music transcends audiences. Indie hipsters, frat boys, cowboys, yuppies, and plenty of middle-aged suburbanite couples were all singing along together in unison. It takes a very special band to successfully execute that kind of quality appeal.
When I was growing up, the stock line of music taste in New York was “everything except hip-hop or country,” the latter of which meant we’re not like those rednecks down south. I never liked that, but I never liked the idea that just listening to alt-country made up for that. I guess there wasn’t as much crossover as I thought; thanks for clarifying.
Oz . . . we might have been a row or two from you at the Atlanta show. We were boxed out by price and availability of seats, but my girlfriend won tickets through Creative Loafing. It was a great introduction to the Avetts; not the best show I have ever seen, but their songwriting is what collects great listeners. We even had a little bit of rock show excitement, arguing down a jerk in the crowd who was hassling some kids. The Avetts remind me of the feeling I used to have listening to Uncle Tupelo (yes, I am THAT old).
Check out the review for the Atlanta show, posted on my blog yesterday:
(http://allistelling.blogspot.com/2010/01/music-monday-avett-brothers-were-in.html)
Nice review and nice pic, Pete. The gravelly voices could also be partly due to opening the night with the screaming on “Colorshow.”
the tag “mainstream” shouldn’t be negative, although most of us who find listening pleasure in smaller acts seem to think so (i often catch myself wondering which of my faves will go mainstream for fear of pricing me out at shows. and i will admit the biggest fear is humming a tune down the street and finding a snot-nosed teenager from the north shore doing the same thing. why this bothers me i don’t know.)
as long as the bands stay true to what made them so lovable in the first place, it shouldn’t matter how many people like them or whether their songs are playing at the gap. they need to buy shoes, too.
I completely agree with the KOL comparison. I loved their first album, but each one has become less and less interesting than the one before in my opinion. Whether that’s due to their popularity or not I don’t know, but my love for The Avett Brothers has only grown with their success. And that’s the way it should be.
Also, I’ve been reading this blog for a while now, but this is my first comment. Keep up the good work guys.
DBT Chi – Well said.
Lara – Thanks for kind words.
i think this alt.country/americana thing is more at home in some alternative or indie rock stations than mainstream country. Here in the Philippines, January Wedding is played on mainstream pop stations almost every 2 hours. It started gettin’ same treatment as Owl City’s Fireflies(another indie solo act who went over the top when Universal signed him)
The Avett Brothers “Live Volume 3″ is out NOW!!! I LOVE it!!! You can listen to it for FREE here http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/1