Few bands blend showmanship and poignancy quite like The Avett Brothers: The band's songs reflect thoughtfully on life and death and love, while toggling between swoonily pretty roots-pop ballads and frenetic, barnstorming punk-bluegrass hybrids. Led by multi-talented North Carolina brothers Seth and Scott Avett, the group digs especially deep on last year's album The Carpenter, which explores mortality and hope in the aftermath of a cancer diagnosis for the young daughter of bassist Bob Crawford. But playfulness and warmth still win out; in The Avett Brothers' music, they always do.

Hear the band perform as part of the 2013 Newport Folk Festival, recorded live on Saturday, July 27 in Newport, R.I.

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