The Avett Brothers

At a time when Mumford & Sons were making banjos, hearty singalongs and rootsy folk-pop all the rage, The Avett Brothers followed a similar path, using bluegrass and country traditions to create Americana pop that happily crossed into the mainstream. Formed by North Carolina siblings Scott Avett and Seth Avett, the group came together in 2002 with the addition of Bob Crawford and later Joe Kwon. They released 2004’s Mignonette and 2007’s through the independent label Ramseur Records. They attracted the attention of legendary producer Rick Rubin when 2007’s Emotionalism became a cult favourite, receiving widespread critical acclaim. Rick Rubin signed them to his American Recordings label and produced their breakthrough album, 2009’s I And Love And You, with the title track becoming their first top ten single. Praised for their rich, heartfelt, acoustic harmonies and modern take on old-time Southern folk, the band went on to perform at the Grammy Awards with Bob Dylan in 2011. The following year, they released The Carpenter, which reached number five in the charts. Still under the mentorship of Rick Rubin, in 2013 the band issued Magpie and the Dandelion. True Sadness followed in 2016, and contained their first number 1 hit, “Ain’t No Man”. For 2019’s Closer Than Together, they tackled more social and political issues than they had in the past. They released The Third Gleam in 2020, an acoustic heavy collection that followed in the tradition of two earlier EPs, 2006’s The Gleam and 2008’s The Second Gleam. They won the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance at the Americana Music Honors & Awards in 2023 and the following year made a triumphant return with their eleventh studio album. The self-titled work was heralded by critics, anchored by the singles "Country Kid," "Forever Now" and "Orion's Belt," and reached number 13 on the US Folk Albums chart.