The beloved Avett Brothers performed a stunning set at Birmingham’s Oak Mountain Amphitheatre last Friday in support of their recent album Closer than Together. Entering with a fierce version of “Live and Die” off of Emotionalism, the band set the stage on fire with their unique blend of folk. Birmingham has long been an important location for the band — I alone have seen the band grow in Birmingham from smaller club-level venues to headlining the former Sloss Music & Arts Festival, and the band was sure to note how much they loved the city and their fans who waited in the rain for the set to begin. Songs such as the poignant “We Americans” carried extra weight in the conservative state, as Seth Avett sang of “the sins of Andrew Jackson and the shame of Jim Crow”. Often times, the crowd was stunned into silence when the two brothers would strip down the set into something so intimate — this phenomenon is rarely seen in a large amphitheatre, but the band made the audience feel as if we were right back in the early years watching them perform in a smaller room. It was a set filled with warmth, sadness, and incredible musicianship as they touched on songs all through their discography for the ecstatic crowd. Birmingham will welcome them back with open arms anytime, as they represent one of the best bands in American music today. Check out our coverage of The Avett Brothers’s set below:
Follow The Avett Brothers on Instagram, and listen to Closer than Together on Spotify.
