There really is something new to report about them just about every day right now. One fun detail is that cyclist Lance Armstrong is a big fan, if his twitter feed is to be believed:

"I'm thinking this new Avett Brothers is pretty damn good."

Also, tune in tonight's episode of "One Tree Hill," which is entitled "I and Love and You" -- after the title track of the aforementioned "pretty damn good" new Avetts album. It plays at the end of the show. That's tonight at 8 on the CW Network.

ADDENDUM: Spin review of Avetts show in Nashville.

While it's not terribly unusual for North Carolina acts to crack the Billboard 200 album-sales chart, it's pretty rare for them to place more than one record on there simultaneously. But Concord's Avett Brothers turn the trick this week.

The Avetts' major-label debut "I and Love and You" is still hanging in there at No. 54 after debuting at No. 16 two weeks ago; and buzz from that has pulled the Avett's self-released 2008 mini-album back onto the chart. "The Second Gleam" comes back in at No. 139, after debuting at No. 82 in its chart run last year.

Concord's fast-rising Avett Brothers are making a splashy debut on the Billboard 200 album-sales chart this week with their major-label debut, "I and Love and You." The album sold almost 40,000 copies in its first week to open at No. 16 on the big chart -- 66 places ahead of their previous chart peak. That's the good news.

The bad news, for those of us in Eastern North Carolina, is that it's probably going to be a while before we see them in our end of the state again. The word from management is that it will probably be 2010 before the next Avett Brothers show in the Triangle.

Behold, the mysterious cover art for the forthcoming Avett Brothers album, "I and Love and You" -- a Scott Avett oil painting titled "Julianne in Vain":

Look for "I and Love and You" on Sept. 29. The Avetts don't have another Triangle show on the calendar yet, but surely that's just a matter of time.