Avett Brothers Show Love to Their West Virginia Fans

Through old songs and new, as well as a musical shift away from their bluegrass roots, folk-rockers the Avett Brothers keep on trucking for their fans. This was evident at the band's Thursday performance in Huntington, W.V., as Seth Avett embraced a front-row fan who beckoned the guitarist to him after the band's final song.

Playing under a ceiling adorned with twinkling stars at the Keith Albee Theater, Avett Brothers weren't exactly lying when singer Scott Avett proclaimed the line, "I just saw a shooting star" during the song 'Laundry Room.' The historic venue and its astronomy-inspired décor, however, were of little interest to the enthused audience as the band played through its 90-minute set.

The small Appalachian town of Huntington lovingly welcomed the Southern quartet, originally from Concord, N.C. The crowd wasn't alone in showing its appreciation, with the Avetts thanking their fans many times throughout the performance. Just like a Southern gentleman, Scott Avett told his fans, "West Virginia, you've been so good to us every year."

Uproarious applause met the band as it took the stage after Nicole Atkins, opening with 'And It Spread,' off the most recent Avett Brothers album 'I and Love and You.' It wasn't until the very end of the set, however, that the band played the album's first single of the same name, which has been swarmed in buzz since the of a 'One Tree Hill' episode inspired by the song. While the middle-aged country folks filling the rows Thursday night were probably not aware of the band's increased exposure, the hoards of young teens fluttering about in their Avett Brothers T-shirts probably did.

While some were adorned quite expectedly in Avett Brothers garb, other fans came clad in costumes and ghoulish make-up to celebrate Halloween early with the Brothers. As Joe Kwon improvised with a cryptic cello line between songs, the mood was set for the weekend's impending holiday.

As the band ripped into 'Salina,' fans from just across the West Virginia border waved an Ohio flag as the brothers Avett sang about leaving the Buckeye State. The performance of the fan favorite off 2007's 'Emotionalism' was exceptionally rowdy, with Scott Avett plucking the strings of his banjo with a vigor that seemed likely to snap them all instantaneously. His right foot, however, kept the song's constant beat, as he slammed down on a kickdrum and teetered back and forth like he was dancing a jig. The song was one of the more raucous tunes of the evening, one that could be appreciated by fans young and old.