The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Have you ever had a song grab you by the ears? I remember the moment I first heard the North Carolina group The Avett Brothers, (TAB) on a dark Thursday night in November listening to DJ Greg Vandy's (online) radio show The Roadhouse on kexp.org. Featuring traditional bluegrass instrumentation, with an undercurrent of punk energy, the song was "Shame" from the Avett Brothers fifth independent release, Emotionalism. It had a propulsive beat and haunting lyrics and was located firmly in my favorite musical wheelhouse - acoustic-based Americana.

Since that first listen in 2007, I have greatly...