The Felice Brothers are an American

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

band from New York.Bumgardner, Ed, 8 November 2007
'Music Notes: Felice Brothers are earthy, their music visceral'
''Relish Now!''.

History

Originally from Palenville in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

, the Felice Brothers got their start playing in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's 42nd Street and Union Square subway stations while living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

.Fleming, Amy, 2007-11-26
'We don't care if we suck'
''The Guardian''. Their 2006 self-released debut album ''Through These Reins and Gone''Lisle, Andria, 2 November 2007
'Roots-revivalist wind propels earthy band'
''Commercialappeal''. made Radio Woodstock

WDST WDST (100.1 Hertz, MHz), branded as "Radio Woodstock 100.1", is a commercial radio, commercial FM broadcasting, FM radio station licensed to Woodstock, New York, and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley. Radio Woodstock is known as a progressive rock, p ...

's top 25 albums of the year. They released 2007's '' Tonight at the Arizona'' on

Loose Loose may refer to: Places * Loose, Germany * Loose, Kent, a parish and village in southeast England People * Loose (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Loose'' (B'z album), a 1995 album by B'z * ''Loose'' (Crazy Horse album ...

then self-released ''Adventures of the Felice Brothers Vol. 1.'' James Felice said, "We put one record out on an English label oose and we've released all the other stuff ourselves n their label New York Pro" In 2007, the Felice Brothers played at

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...

's Midnight Ramble in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

and toured with Bright Eyes.Barry, John W., 22 November 2007
'Felice Brothers: Band enjoying living its music'
''Poughkeepsie Journal''.

2008

On January 7, it was announced that The Felice Brothers had signed a record deal with Team Love Records in the US. They toured the United States extensively during the spring (February through mid-April) to promote their new album. The Brothers played at Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountain again this year. They also played at the 2008 Clearwater Festival,

Bonnaroo Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) far ...

in Manchester, Tennessee, the

Philadelphia Folk Festival The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. The four-night, three-day festival is produced and run by the non-profit Philadelphia Folkson ...

in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, All Points West Music and Arts Festival at

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicenten ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, and Outside lands music and arts festival in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, the latter two festivals being inaugural events. In August, the band performed at the legendary

Newport Folk Festival The Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. The festival was founded by music promoter and Jazz Festival founder Geor ...

. Due to torrential rains, high winds, and lightning storms, power was cut to the entire

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

area. As the stage the band was performing on had no generators, the band played unplugged. They performed for over an hour with such songs as "Frankie's Gun!" and a sing-a-long to "

This Land Is Your Land "This Land Is Your Land" is a song by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. One of the United States' most famous folk songs, its lyrics were written in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's " God Bless America". Its melody is based on a ...

2009

The Felice Brothers joined

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana (music), Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, ''Remedy (Old Crow Med ...

Justin Townes Earle Justin Townes Earle (January 4, 1982August 20, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. After his debut EP, ''Yuma'' (2007), he released eight full-length albums. He was recognized with an Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist ...

and the

Dave Rawlings Machine David Todd Rawlings (born December 30, 1969) is an American guitarist, singer, and record producer. He is known for his musical partnership with singer and songwriter Gillian Welch. He and Welch were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Ori ...

for a nine-city package tour called The Big Surprise Tour, after the lead track from the ''Yonder Is the Clock'' album. Kicking off on August 4, 2009 at the Casino Ballroom in

Hampton Beach, New Hampshire Hampton Beach is a village district, census-designated place, and beach resort in the town of Hampton, New Hampshire, United States, along the Atlantic Ocean. Its population at the 2020 census was 2,598. Hampton Beach is in Rockingham County, ...

, the tour travelled around the eastern United States before wrapping up at the World's Fair Park in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, on August 14, 2009.

2010

The Felice Brothers opened for the

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known as DMB) is an American rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The band's lineup consists of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, guitar), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), R ...

at four concerts in Canada and the US, starting at the

Molson Amphitheatre The Budweiser Stage, originally known as the Molson Amphitheatre, is a concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the grounds of Ontario Place and hosts many diverse acts, including genres like rock, pop, country, and jazz. The ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on June 1, 2010. They also appeared at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco on October 3. In late September and early October the band reunited for four shows with Conor Oberst. All the shows were in California. They appeared at the End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset, England in September.

2011

The Felice Brothers released the single "Ponzi" on March 29. It was the first single from their newest album "Celebration, Florida" which released on May 10 on

Fat Possum In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple ester ...

(USA) and May 23 on

in Europe.

2012

The Felice Brothers released a collection of songs on July 18 entitled "God Bless You, Amigo". It is a mixture of previously unreleased original songs and covers of classic folk songs. Shortly thereafter drummer Dave Turbeville was replaced by drummer David Estabrook.

2013

On December 30, 2013, Dell launched their commercial called "Beginnings". It was made by Y&R, New York advertising agency, and features a cover of The Drifters' hit "This Magic Moment" performed by The Felice Brothers.

Personnel

The band has two main members, Ian and James Felice. Former members include their brother Simone Felice, their friend Josh "Christmas Clapton" Rawson, frequently described as a traveling dice player,

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

player Greg Farley, and drummer David Estabrook. At other times, they have featured a horn section in the band, composed of local

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

musicians. Ian is the main vocalist and plays the guitar and piano. James contributes vocals and plays the accordion, organ, and piano. Christmas plays the bass guitar. Dave Turbeville played the drums from 2009 to 2012, performing on Celebration, Florida, Poughkeepsie Princess, Mixtape, and God Bless You, Amigo. Simone Felice was the drummer as well as a vocalist and a guitarist. Simone is also an author, having released books entitled ''Goodbye Amelia'', ''Hail Mary, Full of Holes'' and ''Black Jesus''. Simone Felice left the Felice Brothers in 2009. He now leads his own band - The Duke & the King (named after the duo of con-artists in Mark Twain's ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...

'') with Robert "Chicken" Burke. They released their debut album - Nothing Gold Can Stay on

/ Ramseur Records August 4, 2009, followed by Long Live the Duke & King in 2010. Simone released a self-titled album in 2012, followed that up with an album titled Strangers in 2014, and then released his third album titled The Projector in 2018.

Discography

Cultural references

*The song "Whiskey In My Whiskey" is playing on the jukebox in Merlotte's bar in episode 7 of the first season of ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

'' on HBO in 2008 *The end of the song "Frankie's Gun!" is featured in the

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...

'' Outnumbereds 2009 Christmas Special, where all the family are seen singing along to it in the closing sequence. *The song "Penn Station" was featured in the weather section on the

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is an absurdist supernatural fiction podcast created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It is presented as a community radio show in the fictional American desert town of Night Vale, with the eccentric local radio ho ...

podcast in 2014 *The band is briefly featured playing their song "Cumberland Gap" in the film

Song One ''Song One'' is a 2014 American romantic drama film written and directed by Kate Barker-Froyland in her directorial debut. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Ben Rosenfield, and Mary Steenburgen. In the film, Franny Ellis returns hom ...

, 2014 *The song "Radio Song" plays on the jukebox in the bar where people are playing pool in the 2017 film

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' is a 2017 crime drama film written, directed, and produced by Martin McDonagh. It stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a Missouri woman who rents three roadside billboards to draw attention to ...

*The song "Radio Song" also plays over the final scene in episode 15 ''Best enemies'' of the second season of

Resident Alien In law, an alien is generally any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems. Lexicology The term "alien" is derived from the L ...

on Syfy in 2022 *The song “Nail It on the First Try” plays over the final scene in the pilot episode of

St. Denis Medical , creator = Eric Ledgin&Justin Spitzer , starring = {{Plainlist, * Wendi McLendon-Covey * Allison Tolman * Josh Lawson * Kahyun Kim * Mekki Leeper * David Alan Grier * Kaliko Kauahi , music = Matthew ...

on NBC in 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felice Brothers, The Folk rock groups from New York (state) Team Love Records artists Fat Possum Records artists Musical groups established in 2006 Dualtone Records artists Musical groups from New York City Loose Music artists Yep Roc Records artists