FIRST ON 3: Azalea Festival announces Avett Brothers coming in April

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – The Azalea Festival announced this morning it has booked the Avett Brothers to perform during the festival. More information on ticket prices will be posted on the festival’s website (www.ncazaleafestival.org). The Avett Brothers will perform at the Friday evening concert. The Thursday night act has yet to be announced.

MORE ON THE AVETT BROTHERS:

The Avett Brothers formed in 2001 in Charlotte, North Carolina when banjoist Scott Avett and guitarist Seth Avett joined forces with standup bass player Bob Crawford. At the time, the brothers fronted a neo-punk band called Nemo. They enjoyed blowing it out on electric instruments but eventually began feeling the tug of the acoustic music they’d heard growing up. They were raised in the textile town of Concord, about a half-hour north of Charlotte. They grew up listening to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills and Nash and their dad Jim’s own folksy duo.

They debuted in 2001 with a self-titled six-song EP and then issued a full-fledged album, Country Was, a year later. The heart of their catalog is the albums that followed: Mignonette (2004), Four Thieves Gone (2006) and Emotionalism (2007) which offers a generous 49 songs among them. In 2008 the Avett Brothers released an EP called The Gleam II, which reached #82 on Billboards Top Albums chart…quite a showing for an independent CD with minimal marketing and publicity.

Over the years, the Avett Brothers have built up a sizable following based on their rowdy, infectious stage shows. In concert, the high-flying ensemble tears through tunes with unbridled energy, popping banjo and guitar strings right and left while inciting stomping sing-along’s among audiences that appear to know every word.

Live shows remain the Avett Brothers’ calling card. In the spring of this year, they opened select dates for the Dave Matthews Band. On their own, they’ve filled a 7000 seat venue in Cary, North Carolina and sold out two nights at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland Oregon. In June 2009, they performed back-to-back sellouts at New York’s Fillmore East.

From independent to now recording with Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label, the Avett Brothers are poised to take their unique sound and break through to a broader audience. “As soon as I heard the depth in their singing and songwriting, I was in for the ride,” says Rubin, who has worked with some of the most talented mavericks in the business, including Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and The Dixie Chicks.

Their latest release on Rubin’s label I and Love and You delivers a style that defies pigeonholing but might be described as a rootsy amalgam of folk, country, bluegrass, rock and pop – even a jab of punk-style dynamics here and there. The Avett Brothers are rightfully proud of this newest release and feel this is an album they’ve been building toward.