#joe kwon

AVTT/PTTN – Kings Theatre – June 12, 2026

AVTT/PTTN — the thrilling combo of the Avett Brothers and perennial rock-and-then-some trickster Mike Patton — are on record saying their unlikely collaboration works because of mutual admiration that they discovered, picked up and ran with. They hit it off, in other words, and that much is evident in their self-titled 2025 album, which at times sounds like a mutant version of the “classic” Avetts country-soul sound, and at times sounds like the musical polyglot Patton unleashed to help deliver twang, heavenly harmonies and more of an “ancient ox driver song” vibe than a “get spacey and skronky” vibe. 

But what’s especially thrilling is how far their collaboration further transports in the live setting. At the gorgeous Kings Theater on Friday, the combined band — touring as an expanded unit that swells from as few as two to more than 10 players depending on serving the song — wasn’t merely content to safely and sturdily play the record, although that would have been fine, and perhaps been a sign they don’t want to push it too far, for fear of overdoing it or over-burdening it. But no, instead, they got after it, infusing that mutant sound into everything from Avetts staples — including “Pretty Girl from Chile,” “Satan Pulls the Strings” and “Laundry Room,” the latter’s reliably lively hoedown coda getting raucously blown out — to chestnuts from throughout Patton’s vast catalog spanning Faith No More (“Ashes to Ashes”!), Mr. Bungle (“Retrovertigo”!) and other associations, to cover songs both fitting because they made sense or because they were less likely but — don’t-ye-have-little-faith — they worked.

The country classic “King of the Road” got trussed up with Mr. Bungle’s “Vanity Fair.” The Dean Martin twang-crooner “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” got an earnest reading — their giddy grins plastered throughout showing how much they all just plain love the song. The ancient hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” was a beautiful benediction at the end of an extended encore segment that also included “Froggie Went a-Courtin’” (part-sung in Korean) and “Cigarettes, Whiskey and Wild, Wild Women.” Even the Avetts’ own “I and Love and You” — with its tender “Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in” chorus — got a touch of Patton scuffing without scraping its delicate heart. 

They found the through line in all of it, allowing for a little mess to keep it interesting and for potential boundaries to stay flexible. The result was a sonic feast, spanning two hours and filling Kings’ every gilded nook and cranny, and could have easily been two hours more. Here’s hoping they’ve found enough fun to come back for another round of this. —Chad Berndtson | @cberndtson

(The Avett Brothers play Elmwood Park Amphitheater in Roanoke, Va., on 9/5.)

(The Avett Brothers play the Westville Music Bowl in New Haven, Conn., on 9/17.)

Photos courtesy of Edwina Hay | thisisnotaphotograph.com

@eatsdirt

Last time we got to play in Raleigh for the Frankie Lemmon School Fundraiser - 2019

The Avett Brothers at Express Live!, Columbus, Ohio, July 23, 2021

I have no enemies, the audience sang in unison as the Avett Brothers brought their (over)sold-out concert in Columbus’ Express Live! to an end.

Darkness had fallen over the city after more than two hours of Avett music. And though that Utopian thought - I have no enemies - likely isn’t true for many in the wake of the previous guy’s insurrection and disagreements over whether to get vaccinated, singing the gorgeous, make-your-eyes leak “No Hard Feelings” was cathartic for band and audience alike and a reminder of live music's healing power.

“We can’t agree on everything, but we’re all here,” Scott Avett said earlier in the evening as if to make the point.

When the Avetts are on stage, string sections merge with raucous cello solos, rhythm banjo, screaming electric guitars and fiddle tunes - as in Tania Elizabeth’s solo take on “Old Joe Clark.” Meanwhile, choruses of “All You Need is Love” (and Bob) break out as bassist Bob Crawford takes another solo and shows off his and his tech’s seamless ability to switch standup for electric varieties without missing a note.

It was a mesmerizing thing to watch.

Despite a sputtering start, the Avetts haven’t any discernible rust after their pandemic-mandated downtime. And their July 23 show was typical of the seven-piece troupe’s atypical mix of country (George Jones’ “Choices”), rock ‘n’ roll (“Die, Die, Die”), pseudo hip-hop (“High Steppin’,” “Ain’t No Man”) and folk (“Murder in the City”) swathed in familial harmonies and friendly joy and delivered by various solo, duo, trio and full-band configurations.

For all the fun the Avetts bring, they also force their audience to think - deeply. Whether it’s contemplating death in “Feelings,” incarceration via Elizabeth’s wrenching delivery of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall be Released,” the United States’ painful history on “We Americans” or the things that are hard to say - but must be said - on “I and Love and You,” Scott and Seth Avett and company have found the perfect balance of medicine and sugar.

And it nourishes the soul.

Grade card: The Avett Brothers at Express Live!, 7/23/21 - A-

Quarantine schedule:

08:00: reading

08:30: writing

09:00: reading

09:30: thinking

10:00: searching for reasons

10:30: missing the seasons, the autumn, the spring the summer, the snow

11:00: the record will stop

11:30: the record will go

12:00: latches latched

12:30: the windows down

13:00: the dog coming in

13:30: the dog going out

14:00: up with caffeine

14:30 down with a shot

15:00: constantly worried about what I’ve got

15:30: distracting my work but I can’t make it stop

16:00: my confidence on

16:30: my confidence off

17:00: sink to the bottom

17:30 rise to the top

18:00: think to myself that I do this a lot

(World outside just goes it goes it goes it goes...)