Seth Avett Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown

"There's something within music that I don't understand unless I get inside of it,” says Seth Avett. For his latest release Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown, Avett transcribed, interpreted and went deep inside ten songs by the indie legend who's been one of his guiding lights since he first heard him at age fifteen.

“When I heard Greg Brown's music, it opened the door to a world of songwriting inspiration,” Avett says. “And since then, I've been connecting to the arc of a man's life and his story. It's laid bare the simultaneous nature of the entire human experience in a way. When I was younger, I felt like he was walking me through a lot of these more grown-up experiences with such a friendly hand.”

For those who may need reminding, Greg Brown is the ultimate songwriter's songwriter. Over a forty-plus-year career, he's occupied the same rarefied air as Loudon Wainwright III and John Prine - a keen-eyed poet and diarist of the human condition. And he's done it mostly on his own. “This is a man who put forty records out because he had to,” Avett says. “He made his own record label. He played the coffee shops, the bars, the little theaters. He built it. He's a world-class artist who did it all under the radar, which is just mind-blowing to me.”

As Avett's new solo record makes clear, this collection is an expression of admiration and gratitude for one of his heroes. But it's also a reflection of his own artistry and ability as an interpreter. "