The Overmountain Men, featuring Bob Crawford of The Avett Brothers, will release their second album, The Next Best Thing, on January 22.  The band, which includes Crawford (bass, vocals), Charlotte-basd singer/songwriter David Childers (guitar, vocals), Randy Saxon (guitar, mandolin, banjo) and Robert Childers (percussion, drums), released their first record, Glorious Day, in 2010.
It’s been a tough year for Crawford, who had to stop touring with The Avett Brothers for a while after his his two-year old daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was recently able to rejoin the band for a fall tour in support of their album The Carpenter which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 100 after it was released on September 11.

The Overmountain Men came together in 2008, when the band’s four members met up for a recording session at David Childers’ home. The project expanded and, by 2009, the band began recording their debut album in earnest. The Overmountain Men has a folksy sound that should appeal to fans of the Avett Brothers, despite being a little less rock oriented. You can listen to Overmountain Men’s first album, Glorious Day, below.