Biography
Originating in New York’s Catskill Mountains, the Felice Brothers fuse folk, Americana, and revivalist roots rock into a distinctly grounded sonic identity. Although the band prioritizes raw inspiration above polished execution, their atmospheric, 1960s-tinged recordings demonstrate capable musicianship and rich vocal interplay. The group fully embraced its unpolished, rural ethos on the 2008 release The Felice Brothers and the 2009 follow-up Yonder Is the Clock, yet shifted toward more expansive, atmospheric production on 2011’s Celebration, Florida while sharpening their songcraft on 2019’s Undress and 2021’s From Dreams to Dust. The download-only 2023 set Asylum on the Hill and the comparatively austere 2024 album Valley of Abandoned Songs both carried poetic insight, evoking their primary influence, Bob Dylan.
Raised in the Hudson River Valley near the storied town of Woodstock, brothers Ian, Simone, and James Felice absorbed the same regional currents that once drew Dylan and the Band. The siblings began weekly Sunday gatherings for music and meals at their father’s home, later deciding to relocate to New York City once their abilities had developed. With James on accordion, Simone on drums, Ian on guitar and vocals, and longtime acquaintance Christmas Clapton on bass, the quartet busked in subway stations while selling copies of its 2006 debut Through These Reigns and Gone. Self-recorded inside a chicken coop, that album and its successor Tonight at the Arizona both displayed an unrefined, homemade quality that nevertheless attracted listeners after the band supported Bright Eyes and appeared at one of Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble events in late 2007. Early 2008 brought a contract with Team Love Records and the release of another self-titled LP.
Extensive road work ensued, encompassing appearances at Bonnaroo, All Points West, Mountain Jam, and the Newport Folk Festival, where a sudden storm prompted an unplanned acoustic set outdoors. Returning to the studio yielded 2009’s Yonder Is the Clock, after which further touring with Old Crow Medicine Show, Justin Townes Earle, and the Dave Matthews Band preceded the 2011 arrival of Celebration, Florida. Simone Felice then departed to focus on solo work and the Duke & the King, yet the revised lineup—Ian on vocals and guitar, James on accordion, keyboards, and vocals, Greg Farley on fiddle and vocals, Josh Rawson on bass and vocals, and David Estabrook on drums—issued Favorite Waitress in 2014 and mounted an extensive tour. Life in the Dark followed in 2016 on Yep Roc Records. May 2019 saw the brass-enhanced Undress on the same label, introducing bassist Jesske Hume and drummer-percussionist Will Lawrence. The 2021 album From Dreams to Dust showcased continued growth in the band’s lyrical balance of humor and social observation, aided by Mike Mogis on pedal steel guitar and Nathaniel Walcott on trumpet. A surprise late-2023 release, Asylum on the Hill, appeared independently, while Conor Oberst’s Million Stars imprint issued 2024’s Valley of Abandoned Songs, drawn from sessions separated by five years.
Raised in the Hudson River Valley near the storied town of Woodstock, brothers Ian, Simone, and James Felice absorbed the same regional currents that once drew Dylan and the Band. The siblings began weekly Sunday gatherings for music and meals at their father’s home, later deciding to relocate to New York City once their abilities had developed. With James on accordion, Simone on drums, Ian on guitar and vocals, and longtime acquaintance Christmas Clapton on bass, the quartet busked in subway stations while selling copies of its 2006 debut Through These Reigns and Gone. Self-recorded inside a chicken coop, that album and its successor Tonight at the Arizona both displayed an unrefined, homemade quality that nevertheless attracted listeners after the band supported Bright Eyes and appeared at one of Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble events in late 2007. Early 2008 brought a contract with Team Love Records and the release of another self-titled LP.
Extensive road work ensued, encompassing appearances at Bonnaroo, All Points West, Mountain Jam, and the Newport Folk Festival, where a sudden storm prompted an unplanned acoustic set outdoors. Returning to the studio yielded 2009’s Yonder Is the Clock, after which further touring with Old Crow Medicine Show, Justin Townes Earle, and the Dave Matthews Band preceded the 2011 arrival of Celebration, Florida. Simone Felice then departed to focus on solo work and the Duke & the King, yet the revised lineup—Ian on vocals and guitar, James on accordion, keyboards, and vocals, Greg Farley on fiddle and vocals, Josh Rawson on bass and vocals, and David Estabrook on drums—issued Favorite Waitress in 2014 and mounted an extensive tour. Life in the Dark followed in 2016 on Yep Roc Records. May 2019 saw the brass-enhanced Undress on the same label, introducing bassist Jesske Hume and drummer-percussionist Will Lawrence. The 2021 album From Dreams to Dust showcased continued growth in the band’s lyrical balance of humor and social observation, aided by Mike Mogis on pedal steel guitar and Nathaniel Walcott on trumpet. A surprise late-2023 release, Asylum on the Hill, appeared independently, while Conor Oberst’s Million Stars imprint issued 2024’s Valley of Abandoned Songs, drawn from sessions separated by five years.
Albums
Valley of Abandoned Songs
2024
From Dreams to Dust
2021
Undress
2019
Life in the Dark
2016
Favorite Waitress
2014
Celebration, Florida
2011
Yonder is the Clock
2009
The Felice Brothers
2008
Tonight at the Arizona
2007
Singles
