I am a fan because of the joy I feel when I am at an Avett Brothers concert. I first heard the music at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in, I think, 2005. I felt a tingling then, but it wasn't until the following summer when they returned to the Fest that I realized that these men were the real thing, and that I could follow them with heart felt conviction and girly, giddy pleasure. Thank you, Avett Brothers. You make my world a better place.