Artist: Seth Avett
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina
Song: “Good Morning Coffee”
Album: Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown
Release Date: November 4, 2022
Label: Ramseur Records
In Their Words: “When I heard Greg Brown’s music, it opened the door to a world of songwriting inspiration. 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. This is a man who put forty records out because he had to. 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.
“He has such a unique, incredible kind of sage-like energy. The most confusing thing to me now is how in the world he made so many records, because as I know him, as a man in his seventies, the day is coming to him. He doesn’t seem to be chasing anything, and the idea of ambition is just hilarious, when coupled with his spirit and personality. I see him as a master songwriter. I don’t think all of this work is indicative of his narrative. There is an autobiography through his forty records, but he is speaking for us. Like all the great authors and poets speak for us. He is in those records fully, but there’s a lot more in them than just him.” — Seth Avett