Don't Wake the Scarecrow

- The Felice Brothers played a great show in New York waters as part of the Rocks Off Cruise series – review here

- More dates have been added to the 2010 Fall tour including a show in Ithaca, NY as well as a handful of dates on the west coast with Conor Oberst (as both an opening act and Conor’s backing band) – full tour dates here

- Simone Felice has found a publisher for his next book titled “Black Jesus” – read more here

- Simone Felice played an amazing show at City Winery recently – Review and setlist here

Simone Felice has recorded a solo album of old and new tunes, a first for him. Some of the songs were hits from his time with The Felice Brothers, some are songs recorded with The Duke & The King, and there are a few other gems on there. From SimoneFelice.com:

This August will mark the limited release of Simone Felice – Live From A Lonely Place. Recorded at home (in the barn) just a few weeks after his heart surgery, this retrospective collection includes songs from the earliest Felice Brother days, Duke & King favorites, and the traditional Celtic waltz ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ arranged by Simone. Naked as the day you were born, these stark recordings cut to the bone, revealing the essential brilliance of the songwriting, the poetry, like a ghost in the attic, like a wind at the door.

Available exclusively at simonefelice.com as well as all live SF appearances beginning August 7 in New York City through this Summer’s UK solo tour and beyond…

You can listen to a few tracks at Simone’s website. A vinyl release will be available soon from DiverseVinyl. I’ll be attending a solo show in NYC at City Winery tonight and will hopefully have some videos and even be able to pick up the album.

Front Cover

Back Cover

The Felice Brothers won over many fans at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival with their ability to roll with the punches. With a hard rain falling on the festival the power went out and the boys couldn’t continue on as planned. Instead of packing up their instruments, the band from the catskills hopped off the stage and played acoustic for all the fans underneath the tent. At that moment the Felice Brothers created a very special moment -- one that has been referred to as the true spirit of the festival.

The band was invited back to the festival this year and they did not disappoint. The weather was much better this time around and the boys were able to play a full set (with 3 encores!) on their electric instruments. The set begins with a very up-tempo White Limo and then follows up with a sort-of greatest hits of their live song catalogue.

Rolling Stone wrote: When the Felice Brothers played Newport in 2008, a massive thunderstorm cut the power on their stage, so they ventured barefoot into the mud for an acoustic set. This time, the band played an electrified set that included accordion-driven rocker “Run Chicken Run.” During standout “Frankie’s Gun,” bassist Christmas leapt on the drum kit and hopped off.

New England Radio Station WERS blogged about the performance: Swinging and howling, Catskill Mountain natives, the Felice Brothers, soared into Newport Folk Fest history on the Harbor Stage today. The groups outrageous antics and folk/rock energy roused the seated crowd to their feet. Screaming, dancing fans rushing to the front had to be pushed back by security. When the set was done the crowd demanded an encore. The Brothers gave them three.

Click Here to listen to the set at NPR.org

Photos: | Gallery 01 | | Gallery 02 |

Frankie’s Gun

Take This Bread

Later on in the festival, members of the Felice Brothers joined the Levon Helm Band on stage to join in on singing a few songs, most notably I Shall be Released. Rolling Stone talked to James Felice after the finale with the famous drummer from the band and they wrote: “That’s the best part of your life, right there,” said Felice Brothers’ James Felice afterward after stepping offstage with Helm. “It doesn’t get quite as good as that.”

I Shall Be Released

A bunch of new tour dates, with some great opening acts, have been announced for The Felice Brothers. Thanks to Digger for the news. You can find out more info and buy tickets at TheFeliceBrothers.com.

The Felice Brothers hit the road again for a final lap around the US and Canada to wrap up 2010. The guys have been hard at work on a new album and will likely drop a few new tunes along with the classic bangers we all love so much. Adam Haworth Stephens of Two Gallants supports on most dates. In addition to these newly announced dates, you can catch the Brothers at their previously announced shows.

July 2010
   Tuesday 27 | Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON
   Wednesday 28 | Il Motore, Montreal, QC
   Friday 30 | Sappy Fest, Sackville, NB
   Saturday 31 | Space, Portland, ME
August 2010
   Sunday 1 | Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI
   Tuesday 10 | New York, NY – Rocks off Cruise**
September 2010
   Thursday 9 | Oran Mor, Glasgow, England
   Friday 10 | Custom House Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland
   Saturday 11 | TJs Woodhouse, Leeds
   Sunday 12 | End Of The Road Festival, Dorset, England
   Monday 13 | Thekla, Bristol
   Wednesday 15 | The Troxy, London
   Saturday 18 | Bristol, VA – Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion 
   Sunday 19 | Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge 
   Monday 20 | St Louis, MO – The Old Rock House
   Wednesday 22 | Santa Fe, NM – Santa Fe Brewing Company 
   Monday 27 | San Diego, CA – Casbah
   Wednesday 29 | Los Angeles, CA Echo
October 2010
   Monday 4 | Arcata, CA – Humboldt State University ***
   Tuesday 5 | Portland, OR – Doug Fir*
   Wednesday 6 | Seattle, WA – Tractor *
   Thursday 7 | Vancouver, BC – Media Club *
   Saturday 9 | Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room *
   Sunday 10 | Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge *
   Tuesday 12 | Omaha, NE – Waiting Room *
   Wednesday 13 | Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club*
   Thursday 14 | Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall *
   Friday 15 | Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle *
   Saturday 16 | Detroit, MI – Magic Stick *
   Monday 18 | Pittsburgh, PA – Mr Smalls *
   Tuesday 19 | Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street *
   Thursday 21 | York, PA – Capitol Theater *
   Friday 22 | Washington, DC – Rock N Roll Hotel *
   Saturday 23 | Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s *
   Saturday 30 | Poughkeepsie, NY – Chance *
   Sunday 31 | Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
November 2010
   Monday 1 | Milford, CT – Daniel Street *
   Wednesday 3 | Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater *
   Thursday 4 | Raleigh, NC – Kings Barcade *
   Friday 5 | Greenville, NC – The Handlebar *
   Saturday 6 | Atlanta, GA – The Earl *
   Monday 8 | Orlando, FL – Social *
   Tuesday 9 | Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder at FSU *
   Wednesday 10 | New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks *
   Friday 12 | Austin, TX – Emo’s Lounge *
   Saturday 13 | Dallas, TX – The Loft *
   Sunday 14 | Little Rock, AR – Sticky Fingerz Rock-N-Roll Chicken Shack *
   Monday 15 | Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s *
   Wednesday 17 | Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall *
   Thursday 18 | Newport, KY – Southgate House *
   Friday 19 | Columbus, OH – Rumba Cafe *

*Adam Haworth Stephens (of Two Gallants) support
**Diamond Doves support
***with Justin Towne’s Earle
****Admiral Fallow support

Added a gallery of images for the Felice Brothers shows at the Nateva Music Festival. I plan on adding even more (in higher quality) soon but for now there are a bunch of photos that you can view by clicking here.

stumbled across this version of Frankie’s Gun on Youtube…..couldn’t help but post it.

The first ever Nateva Music Festival took place over 4th of July weekend in Oxford, Maine and it was quite a success. Many talented acts such as Jackie Greene, moe., The Flaming Lips, and Furthur played sets throughout the weekend to over 10,000 fans. The Felice Brothers were lucky enough to get two separate sets at the festival…one being an afternoon set and another being a highly coveted late night set, following one of the headlining acts.

Both sets were filled with energy and boot stomping tunes that got the audience dancing. During the day, the band opened their set with a beautiful version of “Katie Dear”, a song off of their last studio album Yonder is the Clock. It was nice to see Farley pick up the harmonica and add some notes in on this song, as it’s been a while since I’ve seen Ian use one. Maybe Farley decided to add it to his list of contributions to the band.

The rest of the set was filled with many favorites like “White Limo”, “Run Chicken Run”, and “Whiskey in my Whiskey”….though for this last song they had James step up to the mic and explain that we’d have to “pretend that we’ve been drinkin whiskey” since there was a “No Hard Liquor” policy at the festival. Of course, that wouldn’t stop some fans from sneaking some whiskey into the late night set and handing it to the band for a few chugs.

The highlight for me was the addition of a few new songs to the setlist. One standout that I was able to get on video was a song called “Fire” or “Fire on the Mountain” (still not sure about that one….will have to ask Digger). It’s an up-tempo number that features some eerie background noise early on leading to Ian singing. Some points in the song cut back on the sounds from the band and feature a few drum beats and Ian on guitar before jumping right back into a full-on attack with all instruments. Check out the video of this song below-

Later that same night, following an amazing headlining set by the band moe., the boys from the Catskills took to the stage in the Port City Music Hall for a rousing late night show. The band had a pretty large crowd waiting and when they came out to the stage it was clear that they had been enjoying a drink or two while waiting for their late night show. Ian came out and seemed a little more interactive with the crowd before any music had begun. The band launched into a haunting version of “The Greatest Show on Earth” and drew cheers from the crowd. They were determined to blow the roof off the place by playing extra loud and extra hard. Dave has definitely come around to looking comfortable and confident on the drum kit and proved it here. James also got some spotlight solo love on the tune that left many in the crowd anticipating what else we’d see in the set.

The band played a couple of repeats from earlier in the night but one standout for myself was a slowed down version of “Take This Hammer” that the band played after asking the audience what they wanted to hear. Ian seemed hesitant at first, proclaiming that they weren’t sure if they remembered that one….but then immediately started playing the song with a slower tempo, but just as much energy as their recorded version. They had the audience shouting and cheering by the time the song finished and when they were about to begin another tune, they sadly had to announce that they ran out of time. The band had to leave and the crowd was definitely upset, as chants of “One More Song!” went on for a few minutes, even after the lights had come on.

The festival was a success all around and I got to see a ton of great music. Expect photos and videos from the Felice Brothers shows and a few other performances on this site soon.