On March 3 , 2016 , the band published an open letter announcing their ninth full-length studio album , '' True Sadness . '' In the letter , Seth Avett wrote , " '' True Sadness '' is a patchwork quilt , both thematically and stylistically . " The album , released on June 24 , 2016 , debuted at number 3 on the '' Billboard '' Top 200 and topped the U.S. Folk and U.S. Top Rock charts . The album received a mix of positive and negative critical reviews . '' Entertainment Weekly '' praised the band 's experimentation and " willingness to tear down boundaries " while '' Pitchfork '' criticized the " baffling layers of synthesizers in what feels like a ploy to push the Avetts into clear Top 40 territory . " The album was nominated for two awards , as Best Americana Album and Best Americana Roots Performance ( the album 's lead single , " Ai n't No Man " ) , at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards . In October 2016 , the band was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame . On January 31 , 2017 , it was announced that a documentary about the production of '' True Sadness '' , entitled '' May It Last : A Portrait of the Avett Brothers '' , directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio , would premiere at the 2017 South by Southwest film festival . The documentary was released on HBO on January 29 , 2018
59th Annual Grammy Awards
59th Annual Grammy Awards
The Avett Brothers