UCR On Tour • The Avett Brothers • April 3, 2025 • Idaho Central Arena
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
The Avett Brothers are one of my favorite bands to see live. They were last in Salt Lake City in July of 2023. It was an amazing show. I’ve been anxiously awaiting their return to Utah ever since. Well as you might expect, this band is in high demand. They’re touring all over the country seemingly all the time. I recently looked over their tour dates and still didn’t find a Utah tour stop. But what I did find was a stop in Boise, Idaho.
Boise is about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Salt Lake City. That’s close enough for me! I put in a request and got the approval to cover The Avett Brothers on April 3 at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise. So UCR went on tour to catch the boys on theirs. I’m sure you’ll find it as no surprise that I found it well worth the trip.
There’s something pretty exciting about catching a show for the first time in a new city at a new venue. Well new for me. I booked a hotel within walking distance from the arena and when it was time I made my way over to the venue. I must say, I really enjoyed downtown Boise. It’s a walkable city filled with shops and restaurants. I even made my way down the famed Freak Alley to take a look at the art on the building walls. I can see why people like that town. I walked into the venue and took in the dimensions. It’s a hockey arena somewhat similar to our Maverik Center. The suits are on one side and go straight up to keep this section close to the action. Any staff I encountered were nice and extremely accommodating.
The Avett Brothers took the stage. Greeted the audience with a wave and jumped right into “Paranoia in B Flat Major”. What a great opener. The song starts so conversational and builds to a point where everyone is moving and getting into the show right out of the gate. They followed their opener with “The D Bag Rag”. It’s a fun song that involves the band creating a kazoo orchestra as they play along with the other instruments during the song’s instrumental breaks.
At the end of the song, Scott Avett threw his kazoo into the audience. I just want to remind everyone that I caught Seth’s kazoo at the Salt Lake show in 2023. So I can say that I know what it’s like to catch the kazoo. If you’re wondering if I still have it, the answer is no. I was the proud owner of that kazoo for about 30 seconds. I gave it to a mega fan who came all the way from North Carolina (Home of the Avetts) to see that SLC show. I thought he deserved it more. Anyway, back to Boise.
The band settled in with their third song. Scott took to the piano and delivered a memorable performance of “Heart Full of Doubt/ Road Full of Promise”. The audience gave a loud reaction to the lyric, “Your life doesn’t change with someone that’s elected”. I’ll let you interpret the audience applause however you choose. At the beginning of the song, Seth Avett was working the crowd until he walked back and started playing his acoustic guitar. The show was only three songs in and we were hitting a wave of great chemistry between audience and artists.
The impressive thing about seeing The Avett Brothers in concert is the constant energy coming from the stage. They might be playing a slow song and yet the power coming from the stage is so impressive. This band is so good. They seem like they really enjoy playing together. It can be a fan favorite, a cover, or a new yet-to-be-released song and they just play with such conviction. It’s an infectious feeling that draws me in every time. I could see others who seemed to feel the same way.
A poignant moment in an Avett Brothers show is when they play “No Hard Feelings”. It’s a song that brings the show to a halt. In a good way. It’s a deeply impactful song. I could tell as I looked around the arena that this song resonated with so many people. It’s one of those songs where you wonder, how does someone have the insight and perspective to write lyrics and a melody like that. It was a highlight for sure.
One of my favorite moments in an Avett Brothers concert is when they play “Kick Drum Heart”. They did this at just about the middle of the show and the audience reacted as if it was the closing song. People were dancing and clapping and singing. For the most part, this was a pretty laid-back audience. But there were moments where they really got into it. This was one of those moments.
This band is so versatile. At one point it was just Seth and Scott on stage performing into one mic performing “Bella Donna”. Then bringing the entire band out for a rousing rendition of “Talk of Indolence”. It’s fun to watch people try to sing the first part of the song. It goes so fast! I was impressed, some people next to me got the entire verse correct. I did not. Then of course, after each member of the band shines in these big songs, things are taken to a whole new level with just drums and third Avett Brother, Bob Crawford, on bass for “Ain’t No Man”.
This is a great song to witness live. Everyone else on stage is stripped of their instruments and swaying and clapping as they harmonize perfectly throughout the song. Seth told the audience, “If you keep coming to see us, we’ll keep coming to Boise to see you!”. The crowd loved that. As they ended the song they walked off stage to a huge applause.
The Avett Brothers returned to the stage. They opened their encore with just Scott and Seth again singing a moving acoustic performance of “We Are Loved”. Aside from the occasional “Woo”, the audience was entranced by the harmonies and the lyrics of this song. Blood harmony is a real thing. And it was on full display the entire night. But no more than during “We Are Loved”.
Scott returned to the upright piano and addressed the audience before they played their final song. “We thank you so much for taking your time and listening tonight. We’re The Avett Brothers, we love y’all, take care of yourself. We’ll see you down the road.” The band then closed the night with “Incomplete and Insecure”. They finished the show strong and when they were done the Boise crowd showed their appreciation.
I know some people were disappointed to not have heard “I and Love and You”. And of course, it would have been amazing to have heard it. But with a band like this, a band that has so many amazing songs, it’s impossible to always fit them all in. They played 25 beautiful songs. I’ll take that any day. And hey, one more thing to look forward to the next time you see them. Ok, Avetts, come on down to Salt Lake City now, ya hear?! Can’t wait!
