Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on January 21, 2026
Photo: “Matrimony” video still
More than twenty years after it was shot—and long believed to be lost—never-before-seen footage of The Avett Brothers performing “Matrimony” has surfaced for the first time. Directed in 2005 by filmmaker Tim Nackashi and transferred by Pro8mm, the rediscovered Super-8 film captures the band during their early ascent, just before their rise to national attention.
“Matrimony” appears on Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions (Ramseur Records), a beloved early-era Avetts release that helped set the table for a wave of roots-driven artists who followed—an influence felt across modern folk and Americana, including in bands like Mumford & Sons and Rainbow Kitten Surprise.
Nackashi remembers the shoot as a fast, film-limited snapshot of pure momentum: “We shot on Super-8 with long lenses in a very run and gun fashion. We only got a few takes in before we ran out of filmstock… The energy of The Avett Brothers’ performance leaps right off the emulsion. They were screaming their hearts out over the business district of Athens, GA.”
Watch: The Avett Brothers — “Matrimony” (Official Video)
https://youtu.be/7sD9-MtV9CY
In a fitting twist, the video’s release also echoes the legacy of Four Thieves Gone far beyond its era. Two members of Rainbow Kitten Surprise are from Robbinsville, North Carolina, the same small mountain town where the album was recorded—an unlikely thread connecting generations of artists. RKS guitarist Ethan Goodpaster has described discovering the record as a formative moment, citing how inspiring it was to learn a favorite band had recorded an album in his hometown.
Shot in a single afternoon and brought back from dormancy decades later, the newly unearthed “Matrimony” video is a vivid reminder of the Avetts’ early intensity—ragged, joyful, and fully alive in the frame.
