29 September

29 September

If you put your ear to the street,

you can hear the rumble of the world in motion;

people going to and from work, to school, to the grocery store.

You may even hear the whisper of their living rooms

their conversation, their complaints

and if you're lucky, their laughter.

If you're almost anywhere in America

you'll hear something different

something special, something you recognize

but haven't heard in a long time.

It is the sound of a real celebration

It is not New Year's

and it is not a political convention.

It is neither a prime time game-show

nor a music video countdown

bloated with fame and sponsorship.

What you are hearing is the love for a music.

It is the unbridled outcry of support for a song

that sings to the heart, that dances with the soul.

The jubilation is in the theaters

the bars, the music clubs, the festivals.

The love is for a band.

The songs are honest:

just chords with real voices singing real melodies.

But, the heart and the energy with which they are sung

is really why people are talking

and why so many sing along.

They are a reality in a world of entertainment

built with smoke and mirrors

and when they play

the common man can break the mirrors

and blow the smoke away

so that all that's left behind is

the unwavering beauty of the songs.

That's the commotion

that's the celebration,

and wherever The Avett Brothers are tonight

that's what you'll find.