The Avett Brothers in Tuscaloosa

The Avett Brothers are an American folk-rock band formed in Concord, North Carolina, in 2000 by brothers Scott and Seth Avett. Their music draws on folk, bluegrass, country and rock. Their catalog includes the albums Emotionalism, I and Love and You and The Carpenter, as well as the songs “I and Love and You,” “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” and “Ain’t No Man.” The band recorded its 2009 concert at Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte for Live, Volume 3. Its 2014 New Year’s Eve show at PNC Arena in Raleigh became Live, Vol. Four, while Red Rocks Amphitheatre has hosted recurring multi-night summer runs. The concert lineup centers on Scott Avett’s banjo and guitar, Seth Avett’s guitar and piano, Bob Crawford’s upright bass and Joe Kwon’s cello. The musicians move between acoustic arrangements and full-band rock performances during the same set. Bonnaroo brought the band to its Tennessee stages, and Newport Folk Festival has also hosted them in Rhode Island. They have made repeated appearances at MerleFest.

Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1996 by Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. Their Southern rock and alternative-country songs often draw on the history, politics and everyday life of the American South. The band is known for the albums Southern Rock Opera, Decoration Day and The Dirty South, and for songs including “Outfit,” “Let There Be Rock” and “Where the Devil Don’t Stay.” The 2007 Dirt Underneath tour brought quieter arrangements into seated theatres. In 2008, Drive-By Truckers and The Hold Steady mounted the joint Rock and Roll Means Well tour, and the 2024 Southern Rock Opera Revisited tour returned to the earlier double album in full. Their festival history includes Bonnaroo in Tennessee and the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.