Avett Brothers fans may have some brand new songs to enjoy when the much-loved folk band rolls through the D.C. area this time around.
No guarantees, but the band is working on a new Rick Rubin-produced album that it plans to release later this year. Bass player Bob Crawford hasn’t given many details about the new album except to hint it will be a combination of road-tested tunes and some newer songs.
“We used to put out an album a year,” he said. “Now we’re on a longer cycle, and so that allows the songs to mature and grow. Every album we do, we learn more about recording and producing and all the possibilities there are in the recording studio that come into play both consciously and subconsciously.”
| Onstage |
| The Avett Brothers |
| When: 8 p.m. Friday |
| Where: Patriot Center, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax |
| Info: $39; 202-397-SEAT; ticketmaster.com |
Although the Avett Brothers don’t have quite the name recognition of some other bands of their genre, that’s just fine with them. The bluegrass, hillbilly punk, alt-country band are all about the roots music whether they are playing their own shows, festivals or the Grammy Awards, as they did recently with Bob Dylan.
Perhaps that is why the band’s music matures but doesn’t stray too far from the sound the band’s two co-founders, Seth and Scott Avett, played with their musician father, Jim Avett, when they were first learning to play. And don’t let the famous name of Rick Rubin fool you. Crawford said one reason the band enjoys working with him is that he truly understand the Avett Brothers’ sound.
“He seems to be in sync with us, whatever we want to do,” said Crawford. “He listens to us and gives us his opinion but always tells us to do whatever it is we want to do.”
In a way, the band is following in the footsteps of some of the bluegrass masters they admire, including Del McCoury, who will once again host the Memorial Day DelFest in Cumberland, Md.
Although the Avett Brothers aren’t on the roster this year, Crawford said playing past DelFests has been a career highlight and taught him important lessons about the music business.
“I am from a little town in New Jersey, and I can tell you that meeting [McCoury] was a real honor,” he said. “What makes Del special is that he is old school and tied in with the Grand Ole Opry and that tradition, but he really loves all bluegrass. He knows the roots [of bluegrass] are strong but the branches are reaching. I can’t believe a boy from New Jersey got to play at his festival. It makes no sense.”
