Like an army we descended upon the Xcel Energy Center wearing flannels and jeans en masse. I should have known better – I’d been to similar shows in the past, but when I put on my own flannel that evening to go to the show I forgot I’d be in uniform. We made our way to the main entrance as rain came down upon us on a chilly night in St Paul.
After being splashed a few times waiting at stoplights and massive puddles, I got inside of the X and started making my way to my seat. While making my way in, I was reminded of how the X is one of my favorite venues in the Twin Cities because of its quality feel and awesome concessions – the slice of pizza I got was worth it, on that note.
Coming on with a bang, starting the night as our co-headliner was Trampled By Turtles. Local favorites and based out of Duluth, MN – the Minnesotan folk band has been going hard at it since 2003 and most recently released Alpenglow back in 2022 as their 10th studio album. 3 of their albums have topped the US Billboard bluegrass chart and after seeing them live, I can understand why; they’re electric.
While Turtles is comprised of folk instruments – fiddle, banjo, guitar, the classics – they keep their sound consistent while also flirting with different tempos and themes in their music. Their vocals were killer and had stellar harmonies, and while they played some songs true to their record – they also managed to jam out and fit in some spectacular solos on the mandolin and fiddle. While the crowd was singing along for a lot of the set, some stand-outs were the beautiful and moving “Wild Animals” and for “Midnight on the Interstate” – the latter of which featured an outstanding extended intro. The lead singer, Dave Simonett, thanked the crowd for coming out while also joking that none of the band enjoys public speaking; not to worry, Dave – they gave us more than enough. The band had a few more jams for us before they left the stage and made way for the night’s second act.
Coming up after Trampled By Turtles was The Avett Brothers, and boy was the crowd ready. While the arena was mostly full for Trampled, the place was now packed as the second and final act took to the stage. Trampled has a special place in my heart with it being a local act, but The Avett Brothers are the band of my summer of 2015 – there are some life-long and cherished memories that come with their music.
The Avett Brothers are indeed two brothers hailing from North Carolina, joined by a Folk Rock crew of a band. Known for blending several genres into their sound, the band released their 11th album The Avett Brothers, in May of this year. To start things off, the band came out with a beautiful vocal intro for “Never Apart.” We were expecting to hear mostly the newer songs with the recent release, but we were blessed throughout the set with old classics. “I and Love and You,” “Head Full Of Doubt” and more filled the air as years of my youth roared back.
The band took turns during the set, rotating between a classic folk setup with an upright bass and guitar, to (at times) shifting to electric guitar and electric bass, etc. Not only did they flex their musical abilities between instruments, but they genre-hopped as well. While they’re a folk band, they can epitomize folk-rock if that genre exists at all.
Overall The Avett Brothers rocked their stage time and even managed to incorporate a set of puppets throughout their setlist to amuse us outside of their musical talent. We received an excellent encore, as well as many thanks from the brothers and band as we wrapped up an outstanding night of folk music.
