The Felice Brothers have been called rootsy, ragged, and raucous since they descended from the Catskills to become scruffy New York City buskers. Two decades into their career, they have earned another descriptor — influential.
A new tribute album, Felice County Fair: A Celebration of The Felice Brothers, illustrates just how widely influential the band has become. The compilation, which arrived October 16 via Free Flight Records/Sun Mountain Records, features friends and admirers such as Bright Eyes, The Lumineers, Dawes, and Old Crow Medicine Show. The release comes on the heels of Lunatic Dreamers, a Tiller Russell-directed band documentary that premiered October 14. Their supporters hope these projects bring the band mainstream success that has long eluded them — partly because they intentionally avoided it.
Keyboardist and vocalist James Felice struggles to wrap his mind around the idea of The Felice Brothers being, as producer David Baron (The Lumineers, Jade Bird) termed it in an interview with The Overlook News, “your favorite band’s favorite band.”
“My natural inclination is to be like, ‘No, it's not real. They're just saying that. They're full of shit,’” says Felice, 41, from his home in Kingston, New York. “But that's not true. They actually do [love the band’s music]. They're moved by the music and they love it.”
They’ve loved it from the start. James and principal songwriter Ian Felice (guitar, lead vocals) formed the band in 2006 with eldest brother Simone, who departed in 2009. Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst heard them a year later and has championed the band ever since. And, yes, Bright Eyes fans: The Felice Brothers are his favorite band. Although recording a new album and unavailable for an interview, Oberst provided a statement through Sony Music Nashville:
“They’re one of a kind. They’re an American treasure,” Oberst, 46, said. “To me, they’ve already done it. They’ve already won. I want success for them more for other people to get to access that.”
Brandy Schultz wants it, too. The music executive, sustainability advocate, and wife of Lumineers frontman Wesley Schultz shared her vision with Ian and James two years ago and became the driving force behind Felice County Fair. She shares A&R credit with Baron and Sony’s Nathan Thomas. Ian Felice called Schultz “a uniquely powerful force of nature” on social media and credited her “sheer will” in assembling the project. She had compelling reasons to act.
“One is my deep love and admiration for their music and their songwriting, paired with the fact that they haven't really made it commercially or financially,” says Schultz, 42, calling from New York City. “As a fellow band wife and mother of two children, I care about them being able to put food on their children's plates.”
