- The Avett Brothers
- MerleFest 2005
- By Greg Yost
 MerleFest, an annual
event held at Wilkes Community College in the picturesque mountains
of Wilkesboro, North Carolina, was created in 1988 by the venerable
Doc Watson to honor the memory of his son Merle and the music
they performed together. Throughout the years, this festival
has thrived by preserving traditional American acoustic musical
styles like bluegrass and old-time music and the artists that
kept these genres alive. Though trends have come and gone in
the world of Americana music, not much has changed over the 15+
years that MerleFest has been around, that is until a little
trio from Concord, North Carolina took the stage on the second
day of this year's festival.(Left: Avett Brothers at Merlefest
2005.)
The Avett Brothers are unlike any other band in Americana
music today. With a potent combination of talent, charm and charisma,
these guys break new musical ground by bringing a punk rock attitude
to the world of traditional acoustic country. While they have
done some great things in the recording studio, The Avett Brothers
are known for their live performances and the raw energy and
emotion they put into them.
Most songs feature more stomping, whooping, flailing and shouting
than an old fashioned southern revival and the crowd eats it
up. It would be easy for this band to come across as strictly
a novelty act on-stage, but all the sound and fury of the performance
only helps to accentuate the great collection of songs at the
core of this band. By combining terrific songwriting with an
unmatched stage presence, The Avett Brothers are one of the freshest
and most promising bands in music today. And even though 2005
wasn't the band's first appearance at MerleFest, they soon became
the talk of the event.
The Austin Stage at MerleFest, nestled at the base of steep,
tree-lined hill at the center of campus, was the site for the
band's first of four appearances over the weekend. The hillside,
which was packed with music fans, erupted with applause as Scott
Avett, Seth Avett and Bob Crawford took the stage. This site
had hosted performances by artists like Jim Lauderdale, Tim O'Brien
and the up-and-coming Old School Freight Train earlier in the
day, but the crowd reaction to The Avett Brothers' appearance
was by far the biggest.
 Though the set was
filled with the kind of "technical difficulties" that
come from the merciless beating Scott Avett bestows upon his
banjo on a regular basis, the crowd responded throughout the
short performance by cheering and singing along with almost every
song.
The band wrapped this first performance of the weekend with
its usual closer, "Salvation Song" from 2004's stellar
album Mignonette, but the crowd wouldn't let them get
away that easy. Following a prolonged standing ovation, The Avett
Brothers were called back to the stage for an encore, one of
the few allowed throughout the tightly-scheduled festival.
If there was a quiet buzz surrounding The Avett Brothers prior
to the performance at the Austin Stage, it became undeniably
obvious as the roar of the crowd faded through the woods surrounding
campus. People were talking about this band and planning the
rest of their weekend at the festival around its next three performances.
(Left: The Avett Brothers at Merlefest 2005)
As the festival progressed, the venue for The Avett Brothers
got bigger and bigger. Saturday afternoon found the boys playing
to a packed field at the Americana stage and they didn't fail
to please. The quiet beauty of "November Blue" was
countered by the overt aggression of "I Killed Sally's Lover,"
and Seth's solo acoustic version of "My Last Song to Jenny"
was a highlight of the performance.
On Sunday, the final day of MerleFest, the band got the morning
started with an appearance at the Hillside Stage. Though it was
a significant set for the band, it served as a warm-up for The
Avett Brothers' brief but triumphant turn at the Cabin Stage,
one of the showcase venues at the festival.
Located next to the festival's main stage, The Cabin Stage
allows performers to play for tens of thousands of people between
sets by the headlining acts, and provided the band with its largest
audience of the weekend. The Avett Brothers took the stage by
storm and culled another standing ovation from the crowd
a task not easily accomplished.
Although it is anything but traditional, The Avett Brothers
made its mark on MerleFest by outshining some of the biggest
names in Americana music today. In three short days, the band
won over a significant portion of the 82,000+ hardcore devotees
gathered to celebrate traditional acoustic music a true
testament to the power of this band.
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