The Avett Brothers have announced that their new album, True Sadness, will be released on June 24. The announcement was made via a lengthy and heartfelt letter penned by Seth Avett.

In the note, which starts with “Dear Friends,” Avett details the various and numerous experiences and tribulations that the band has gone through since beginning the music life together around 16 years ago.

Our lives were fine. Our music was okay. In retrospect, I understand the two were bound together — the nourishment of each eventually benefitting both, though at the time, it seemed as if neither could progress in the wake of the other.

…

Our name, once an afterthought on a xeroxed restaurant calendar in Hoboken, now in lights on the marquee at Madison Square Garden.

…

True Sadness is a patchwork quilt, both thematically and stylistically. Wherein a myriad of contrasting fabrics make perfect sense on the same plane, this album draws upon countless resources from its writers and performers. To further propel the expansive color and textural fields of the record, we are blessed to play and perform music with a group of musicians who possess not only great talent, but great interpretive ability.

…

On June 24th, we will share with the world this work, these songs, and a contemporary chapter of our lives.

Read the full letter here.