The Avett Brothers and Mike Patton present: AVTT/PTTN

Mike Patton and The Avett Brothers have each taken distinct paths not only to genre-defying success but also to enormous influence. Patton emerged in the late ’80s, with the transgressive and thrilling Faith No More and the boundless Mr. Bungle. For the last four decades, he has been a dauntless experimenter and collaborator, from his works with John Zorn or The Dillinger Escape Plan to his explorations with the Ictus Ensemble and in his bands Tomahawk and Fantômas. The Avett Brothers, meanwhile, rose from a touring circuit of sweaty Southern dives, where their youthful enthusiasm added a punk edge back to driving bluegrass songs and slanted country ballads, to become a mainstay of modern acoustic music. Despite major-label deals and headlining arenas and amphitheaters, they have always retained a devil-may-care aplomb, open to pursuing new paths.

These two thrillingly independent institutions have now collided with a nine-track collaborative debut called AVTT/PTTN. The North Carolina brothers had been childhood Patton enthusiasts, studying his vocal delivery and pinball maneuvering inside songs. Patton was a fan, too, so they began trading and shaping song ideas electronically, having never met. The result is a hopeful and surprising union, from the balladic crooning of opener “Dark Night of My Soul” to the gothic doo-wop of “Disappearing.” They snarl over electrified banjo and industrial rhythms during “The Ox Driver’s Song,” then suggest Panda Bear cooing beneath a bittersweet country love stunner during “The Things I Do.” Patton and the Avetts made their debut in secret, without hype or expectation; AVTT/PTTN’s songs affirm what has long made them so thrilling apart and, now, together. They will play their first live festival show at Big Ears 2026.