Put on the closest flannel shirt, pour yourself a whiskey and get ready to have an old school foot-stomping, hootenanny of a time with The Felice Brothers. Hailing from upstate NY, the band is made up of Ian, Simone and James Felice, and their friends Christmas and Farley.  I’d like to point out that Christmas, while having the most kickass name I’ve heard in a while, is also a former traveling dice player, a career path I wish I had been aware of before pouring all my money into grad school.

The brothers honed their act on the streets and in the subway stations of NYC before hitting the festival circuit this year in their van affectionately named the ‘short bus’.  Their music pays homage to the backwoods rock of yesteryear; in fact, I think the F.Bros would have been the perfect in-house band at Al Swearengen’s Gem Saloon.  But even with their retro yearnings, the brothers Felice still create a contemporary sound that is both innovative and refreshingly lo-fi.  They describe their music simply as ‘soul’ music, though ‘American soul’ (a genre I just made up) may be more on point. Check it:

The Felice Brothers - Frankie’s Gun!

The Felice Brothers - Radio Song