CONCORD, N.C. — A Concord artist says her dream came true when she was given the opportunity to design a mural at the entrance to downtown, and given full creative control.
Caswell Turner said she was told she could put anything she wanted in the mural, so she chose the Avett Brothers, the Grammy Award-winning stars who were born and raised in the Concord area.
It's the first thing you see as you drive into downtown on Union Street.
"It kind of hits you slowly, all of the colors have a really great impact," Turner said.
The giant colorful mural is a "love letter" of sorts to the hometown band, using their own words.
"Speaking from personal experience, I have found a lot of value in the poetry they've put out. I know other people have, too," Turner said. "I thought it'd be special to have it all laid out."
Turner spent years designing and then fundraising $17,000 for the mural of Scott and Seth Avett with their band. Turner, who was born and raised in Concord, knew it would resonate with her neighbors.
"They've created this really unique fanbase and group of people who are really supportive of each other. The city has come to love them," Turner said. "A lot of people here just love them, so this was really a welcomed thing."
It was a labor of love. Every single lyric from all 10 Avett Brothers albums is featured. It stops people in their tracks and the band helped cut the ribbon last month.
"I knew that people would love being able to come and find their lyrics," Turner said. "I couldn't leave an album out, or a song out, because you never know, it could be someone's favorite song.
"Seeing them [the band] talk about it, that was just a dream come true. This is just the love of the community coming together to support the Avett Brothers."
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.