A local promoter whining about a lack of coverage recently asked us — rhetorically, we presume — “who the f— are the Avett Brothers” after Creative Loafing had the temerity to preview their punk-grass show a couple of weeks ago at the Neighborhood Theatre. (The Brothers, by the way, sold out the venue — a musical first for the NoDa icon — and had to turn away other patrons.)
The point being: if you think the Avetts own the hearts of fans in this town (not to mention a growing presence up and down the East coast), the mayor of Concord, Scott Padgett, has declared Thursday, December 18, “Avett Brothers Day” in their hometown. A ceremony celebrating the honor will occur before the band’s gig Thursday at the George Washington Bookstore and Tavern — a show that will be recorded for a live CD to be released next year.
The Avetts are also playing this year’s MerleFest (Wilkesboro, April 29-May-2), the 17th annual celebration of the music of papa Doc Watson and the late Merle Watson’s son, Richard Watson. For more information call 1-800-799-3838 or hit the website at www.merlefest.org. …
Local CD releases: Gael Warning, the self-described “progressive bagpipe-jazz-aboriginal-fusion” trio, celebrated the release of their first studio full-length, New World Celts, at the Evening Muse, December 14. The disc was recorded and mixed (by Charlie Ferrell at Amplitude Audio) from May to October of this year. Of the nine cuts, three are semi-traditional bagpipe tunes, three feature more jazzy, non-traditional sounding pipes, and three more are slower songs highlighted by the Shakuhachi Flute or Australian Didgeridoo. … Something Jed, an emo/punk trio of local 16-year-olds, has released its second disc of the year, Get Ready, following their self-titled debut (released in January).— John Schacht
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2003.
