As Avett Brothers finish new album, they return to Tallahassee with deep questions

Scott Avett is reflective at this point in his musical career.

The lyrics that Scott — now 42 and the married father of three children 10 and younger — penned in his 20s are unlike the ones he scribbles now. Early albums were akin to the first books in a long series, whose final book has yet to be written.

One half of the namesake duo of the musical group The Avett Brothers, along with younger brother Seth Avett, Scott and the rest of their seven-member band play the Tucker Civic Center on Sunday night. It is the band’s third Tallahassee show in the last four years, following two others at Cascades Park Amphitheater.

“It’s very different,” Scott told the Democrat by phone. “When I was younger, it was a very narrow vision. I wanted to prove, if anything to myself, that I could explain or express artistically who I was, what I felt and what I’d experienced. I thought it was all up to me to do that.

“At 42, we go wait a second – it’s been nothing but a privilege and a gift and I’ve not been responsible for any of it. Sure, I’ve put in a lot of hard work and time, but there’s a lot of privilege – the privileges of life to live and practice.

'Now, lyrics for me, I look back and it’s impossible to see it as anything other than a spiritual journey. I see it in Seth’s lyrics, too. We’re a group of humans going through questions, asking them, trying to find answers, many of which will never be answered. I go to my notebook and guitar with that awareness.”

Raised in North Carolina and greatly influenced by the sermons of their grandfather, Rev. Clegg Avett, the band's lead duo has gone from regional fame to mainstream prominence with the success of its last album “True Sadness” – a probing look inside topics such as heartbreak, divorce, illness and purpose – and the 2017 release of a theatrical documentary “May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers” by director Judd Apatow.

Both album and movie explore the family dynamic at play behind the scenes of the successful musical performers, as well as the personal faith they hold onto when faced with adversity.

“It shapes everything. It is everything,” Scott said. “On a broad level, I think about how reflective our little families are to a huge conversation to the world – the family of our planet and people. Seth and I have been guilty of writing little songs before about our personal experiences, but I believe it’s reflective of the big family and the big one that we are all hoping for and aspiring to.

"With our kids, that love is an example of the possibility of love. How is it humanly possible to love something that much and where do we go from here?”

Scott and Seth are determined to ask hard questions in their songs, because not only do they feel them, but they know others have the same questions.

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“Why do I feel worthless? Everyone thinks the grass is greener. If I had that job, if I was that guy or girl, then it would be easier — but it’s not the case,” Scott said. “It’s difficult for everyone and we all have those questions. Am I loved? Do I belong? Where am I going? Massive questions. The asking of those questions is faith. Spiritual curiosity is faith. To do that out loud in front of people puts us in a weak and vulnerable spot.”

The Avett Brothers have released three new singles in the past several months: “Roses and Sacrifice,” “Trouble Letting Go” and “Neapolitan Sky.” There is a fourth single on its way this spring, leading up to the release of a new single from the band’s forthcoming unnamed album.

“True Sadness,” released in 2016, and the 2013 album “Magpie and the Dandelion,” each had sounds more experimental by comparison to the band’s earlier, standard folk nuances, but the three new singles delve back into a lighter harmonic approach.

"Some songs off the new album are up-tempo and beat-oriented," Scott said. "We remixed everything, and we played with a programmer and worked them over triple. It was a great process. They have some really provocative and thought-provoking, surprising lyrics."

Scott hasn’t found it difficult to bare his souls in his lyrics, even as some songs discuss issues such as infidelity.

“There’s a challenge to do it without throwing someone under the bus or exploiting their well-being,” Scott said. “We’re more conscious of that, but we don’t let it stop us from saying what we want to say."

Having been through family crises such as bassist Bob Crawford’s daughter developing a brain tumor at 2 years old, Scott isn’t looking at what the next 20 years holds for him, the band, or what his legacy may be with Seth. The present requires energy and focus, and there are no absolutes in life expectancy or a band’s shelf life.

“I always think it’s my last year, but I know we’re already plotting years beyond this,” Scott said. “You never know when it’s your last time. Seth and I don’t always see eye to eye, but we express things better and live better. We’ve found we can disagree and work together in loving ways.”

The Avett Brothers began their most recent tour Thursday in St. Augustine, then play Tampa on Saturday before coming to Tallahassee.

The band will have played 53 shows before their last tour stop Sept. 21 in Minnesota. Scott’s youngest son, Luke, turns 4 when he finally returns home.

“Too much of anything is a problem,” Scott said. “I can always feel it deep in my soul when I’ve overbooked or am overworked. I’m less of a rock star and less of a dad."

He said this year will be busy, but it feels like the proper balance.

"It makes us better fathers and mothers to go out and perform and come back,” Scott said. “We won’t be with them their whole lives. You raise them to go away and live their own lives and be their own grown-ups.

“I want to honor them, perform great shows, respect the songs, and I think that makes me a better father. Then when I’m home, I clear that space to be there and enjoy those other gifts, which children bring.”