The Felice Brothers are an American

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which 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 revival. Performers suc ...

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which 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 s ...

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

History

The Felice Brothers got their start as a band playing in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

subway. They lived in a little apartment in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and would play in the subway stations at 42nd Street and

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. The three brothers originally hail from

Palenville, New York Palenville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 1,037 at the 2010 census. Palenville is in the southwestern part of the town of Catskill, located at the junction of Routes ...

Fleming, Amy, 2007-11-26
'We don't care if we suck'
''The Guardian''. in the

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

. Now they tour the country, traveling in their "Short Bus". Their 2006 self-released debut album was ''Through These Reins and Gone''Lisle, Andria, 2 November 2007
'Roots-revivalist wind propels earthy band'
''Commercialappeal''. followed by ''

Tonight at the Arizona ''Tonight At The Arizona'' was released in 2007 by The Felice Brothers on English Label Loose Music, Loose.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), ...

. ''Through These Reins and Gone'' made it onto Radio Woodstock

WDST WDST (100.1 MHz), branded as "Radio Woodstock 100.1", is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Woodstock, New York, and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley. Radio Woodstock is known as a progressive station that was at the forefront of both the mo ...

's top 25 albums of 2006. About their album ''Adventures of the Felice Brothers Vol. 1'' James Felice said, "We put one record out on an English label (

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), ...

), and we've released all the other stuff ourselves" (on their label 'New York Pro'). ''The Felice Brothers'' have 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. H ...

's Midnight Ramble in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

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

2008

On January 7, it was announced 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 "Mountain Jam" is an improvised instrumental jam by The Allman Brothers Band, based on Donovan's 1967 hit song "There Is a Mountain". The first known recording of a performance was done on May 4, 1969, at Macon Central Park. "Mountain Jam" was ...

at Hunter Mountain again this year. They also played at the 2008

Clearwater Festival The Clearwater Festival (officially the Great Hudson River Revival) is a music and environmental summer festival and America's oldest and largest annual festival of its kind. This unique event has hosted over 15,000 people on a weekend in June ...

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

Manchester, Tennessee Manchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 12,213 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County. The city is located halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga on Interstate 24. Manchester is ...

, 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, which is produced and run by the non-profit Philadelphia Fo ...

in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania,

All Points West Music and Arts Festival The All Points West Music & Arts Festival was an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. First held in August 2008, it was hosted by Goldenvoice/AEG Live events, the same company that ...

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 Bicentenn ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Outside lands music and arts festival The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is a music festival held annually in San Francisco, California, at Golden Gate Park. The festival is produced by Another Planet Entertainment, Superfly Presents, and Starr Hill Presents. It is the l ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

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

Newport Folk Festival 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. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

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

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

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 one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", with melody based on a Carter Fam ...

2009

The Felice Brothers joined

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an 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'', released in 2014, won the Gr ...

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 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, abo ...

, 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 and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, on August 14, 2009.

2010

The Felice Brothers opened for the

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

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 ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 e ...

(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 bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

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 (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

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 2009-2012, 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'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...

'') 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 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. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

'' Outnumbereds 2009 Christmas Special, where all the family are seen singing along to it in the closing sequence. *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 drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

'' on HBO. *The song "Penn Station" was featured in the weather section on the

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is a podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale, reporting on the strange events that occur within it. The series was created in 2012 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Published by Night Vale ...

podcast in 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felice Brothers, The American folk rock groups 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