The Avett Brothers And Mike Patton (AVTT/PTTN) Announce Debut Festival Performance at Big Ears on March 28

Listen to latest single “Heaven’s Breath” HERE

 

Photo credit: Crackerfarm

October 23, 2025: AVTT/PTTN — the collaboration between The Avett Brothers and Mike Patton — will make its festival debut at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 28, 2026. 

The performance by AVTT/PTTN will be one of several “additionally ticketed” events at the Big Ears Festival (March 26-29), where festival passholders will receive early access and preferred pricing for reserved seats for the show. Any remaining tickets will be offered in a general public on-sale. Exact days of the pre-sale and on-sale will be announced by Big Ears within the next couple of weeks.

“We have saved our virgin live performance for a worthy suitor… and they have Big Ears!” says Patton. “We are delighted to be playing at this exciting and forward-thinking festival.”

Consequence is calling AVTT/PTTN "one of the most unexpected collaborations of this (or any) year.” The upcoming album is composed of eight original songs written by the three artists together (plus one folk traditional) and produced by Mike, Scott, and Grammy-winning engineer Dana Nielsen (Metallica, Rihanna). Ahead of release on November 14, AVTT/PTTN have shared advance singles “Eternal Love” and “Heaven’s Breath.” 

For the Avetts, working with Patton is more than just a new collaboration — it’s a full-circle moment. “Mike’s part of our DNA, like the fabric of our youth,” says Scott. “Literally, we studied him. He’s a dear friend now, but when we were younger, I was imitating him.” Patton adds, “My peculiar challenge in this was to become a long distant cousin. A brother that was orphaned. Maybe they kept him in the chicken coop or some shit. They brought him out years and years later.”

Pre-order / pre-save AVTT/PTTN (out November 14, 2025) HERE.

 

AVTT/PTTN Tracklist

1. Dark Night of My Soul
2. To Be Known 
3. Heaven’s Breath
4. Too Awesome
5. Disappearing
6. Eternal Love
7. The Ox Driver's Song
8. The Things I Do
9. Received

 

About The Avett Brothers

Four-time GRAMMY Award nominees The Avett Brothers made mainstream waves with their critically acclaimed 2009 major label debut, I and Love and You. In 2012, The Carpenter hit #4 on the Billboard 200, followed by Magpie and the Dandelionin 2013, which debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. The 2017 documentary May It Last: A Portrait of The Avett Brothers (co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio) chronicles the process of writing 2016’s True Sadness, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Albums, #1 on Rock Albums, #3 on the Billboard 200, and scored two Grammy nominations. The film was released theatrically and on

HBO to rave reviews and is available on DVD/BluRay/VOD. In 2019, the band released their tenth studio album Closer Than Together featuring the single “High Steppin’” which reached #1 on the Americana Radio Singles Chart. The Third Gleamcame out amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums, #1 Rock Albums, #1 Vinyl Albums, and the single “Victory” hit #1 on the Americana Radio Singles Chart. This year saw the

release of The Avett Brothers, an album that is as much untitled as it is self-titled: a collection of songs that revealed themselves naturally over time. Swept Away - a musical inspired by & featuring the music of The Avett Brothers - recently debuted on Broadway. The Avett Brothers have been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and have earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. They are currently on tour throughout the US.

 

About Mike Patton

Mike Patton is a Renaissance man in the truest sense of the word. From his time spent with genre-defying alternatives acts like Faith No More and Mr. Bungle, to his multitude of collaborations including the deconstructed-pop of Peeping Tom, the rock-centric Tomahawk, and the Italian language orchestral classics he covered with Mondo Cane. His career has also ventured in film composing for movies such as Crank: High Voltage and A Place Beyond The Pines, voice acting in I Am Legendand multiple video games, and starting his own record label, Ipecac Recordings, showing there is no limit to what Patton can do.

 

About Big Ears

Described by Oxford American as “one of the most quietly earth-shattering, subtly luminous festivals the world over” and by The New York Times as simply “one of the world’s great music bashes,” Big Ears has earned a reputation as one of the most vibrant and multifaceted music festivals anywhere—an annual pilgrimage for visionary artists and passionate music lovers from around the globe. Since 2009, Big Ears has transformed Knoxville, Tennessee into a dynamic, kaleidoscopic exploration of music and artistic discovery. Over four days each year, many of the world’s most innovative, imaginative, visionary musicians and composers—spanning classical, jazz, rock, folk, bluegrass, electronic, and beyond—perform nearly 250 concerts at historic theaters, churches, rock clubs, alternative performing arts spaces, museums, and galleries, all within walking distance of one another in Knoxville’s historic, vibrant downtown. In addition to musical performances, Big Ears offers a film festival; a weekend-long program of talks and conversations with artists, journalists and critics; visual art exhibitions, installations, workshops, and more. Big Ears is a 501(c)3 organization working with artists, audiences, and communities to create joyful and inspirational cultural experiences that transcend traditional boundaries, fuel curiosity, ignite the spirit, and nourish the soul.