Mountain Xpress: Lovett puts down anchor in Asheville

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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EYE OF THE STORM | Lovett from Lovett on Vimeo.

Story by Jon Elliston for Mountain Xpress, writing about musician Ben Lovett and his new album:

The first album by his solo act, called “Lovett,” debuts Wednesday, March 9. The album incorporates some 150 musical collaborators, including members of The Avett Brothers, The Mars Volta and Cursive (and about 100 music-camp kids who chime on the lead track, “The Fear”).

For Lovett, a 32-year-old Georgia native who’s putting down roots in Asheville (after stints in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City), the timing feels right for releasing the three-year labor of love. He started working on the album, Highway Collection, in the summer of 2008, and recorded it at studios around the country. He did a few of the final tracks at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Recording, and has since rented a full-time studio room there.

The release is a milestone for Lovett, who got into the music biz recording local acts in Athens while studying at the University of Georgia in the late ‘90s. After that, he was based in Los Angeles, sharing a home and a production company with his friend Brian Burton — the musical megaforce better known as Danger Mouse.