The upstate New York band The Felice Brothers will release a new album, Life In The Dark, through Yep Roc Records on June 24 (available for pre-order now). Today the band debuts the lively, rousing “Aerosol Ball,” from the forthcoming release. With the track comes a video created by the band’s bassist Josh Rawson: an entertaining, re-purposed collage of stock footage from the 1950s and 60s, interspersing pin-up girls, boys stuffed in phone booths, mod-dancers and more.

Life In The Dark was recorded in a rented garage-turned-recording-studio on Letterbox Farm, a working farm in New York State’s verdant Hudson Valley in Columba County. This album follows The Felice Brothers’ 2014 release Favorite Waitress, which American Songwriter hailed as “a remarkably varied and well-paced collection of tunes.” The nine new songs on Life In The Dark find lyricist Ian Felice continuing to explore modern life in a complicated and divided America, through a cynical and occasionally heartbroken lens, in the tradition of songwriters like John Prine, Shane MacGowan and Michael Hurley. 

Musically the band (Ian on guitars and vocals; his brother James on accordion, keyboards and vocals; Greg Farley on fiddle and Josh Rawson on bass) incorporates their expansive knowledge of American folk music — both its creators and what makes it so compelling and enduring — with other elements of contemporary music — classic rock and blues. The result, which has previously been dubbed “rowdy, vivid, moving and playful…just glorious” (Uncut), is in full-effect here on songs like “Sally,” “Plunder” and more.
 
Watch the video for “Aerosol Ball” HERE.

Life In The Dark was produced by The Felice Brothers, engineered by James Felice and mixed by Jeremy Bakofen and James Felice. It was mastered at Gateway Studios. David Estabrook plays drums.

“Plunder,” the second song to debut from The Felice Brothers’ upcoming release Life In The Dark, premieres today via Welcome to Night Vale (ep. 89: Who’s a Good Boy? Part 1). Listen to the rowdy narrative on iTunes for a healthy dose of skepticism.

Of Life In The Dark, Uncut says "Singer-guitarist Ian Felice brings real pathos to lucid tales of characters in various states of dissolution against vivid backdrops...” And “Plunder” is no exception.

Songwriter Ian Felice says, “’Plunder’ is a song about blasting off into a sky the color of Pepto Bismol and/or branches scraping the clouds."

“Plunder" follows the release of the song “Aerosol Ball,” which was first made available via this video created by the band’s bassist.
 
The Felice Brothers will perform songs from Life in The Dark  on upcoming tour dates supporting Conor Oberst, plus a variety of summer festivals including Brooklyn’s Northside Festival and TURF in Toronto. A full US headlining tour will be announced in the coming weeks.

Life In The Dark (available for preorder now) was recorded in a rented garage-turned-recording-studio on Letterbox Farm, a working farm in New York State’s verdant Hudson Valley in Columba County. Life In The Dark is The Felice Brothers’ ninth studio album after the 2014 release Favorite Waitress, which American Songwriter hailed as “a remarkably varied and well-paced collection of tunes.” The nine new songs on Life In The Dark find lyricist Ian Felice continuing to explore modern life in a complicated and divided America, through a cynical and occasionally heartbroken lens, in the tradition of songwriters like John Prine, Shane MacGowan and Michael Hurley.

The Felice Brothers (Ian: guitars and vocals; James Felice: accordion, keyboards and vocals; Greg Farley: fiddle and Josh Rawson: bass) incorporate their expansive knowledge of American folk music — both its creators and what makes it so compelling and enduring — with other elements of contemporary music – classic rock and blues.

Welcome to Night Vale is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.

Rebellious upstate New York rockers The Felice Brothers release Life In The Dark (Yep Roc Records) today. An album Consequence of Sound calls a “twisted American odyssey,” it pairs songwriter Ian Felice’s plainspoken poetry with the band’s musical home-brew of rock, folk and blues. According to Felice, it explores the world “through the wrong end of a telescope into the perpetual apocalypse of everyday life.”

Recorded in a rented garage on a farm in upstate New York, Life In The Dark offers a skeptical soundtrack to the disillusioning socio-political panorama that dominates today’s headlines with “…songs that subtly but powerfully address the suddenly shakier foundations of Trump-era America.” - The Guardian

As part of release day events, the band will stream a special performance live from WDST/Radio Woodstock beginning today at approximately 12:00 noon ET. Fans can watch live via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thefelicebrothers/. 

Celebrating their 10th anniversary as a band The Felice Brothers embark on an expansive North American tour beginning in September, with shows in New York, DC, Chicago, LA, San Francisco and more. Northeast festival dates precede the fall tour with performances in July at the Green River Festival in Western Massachusetts, the XPoNential Festival in Philadelphia, Catskill Back Forty Revival in Upstate New York and more. Tickets for all dates are on sale now.

Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival returns to MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA on June 23-25, 2017. Spanning three days and four stages, Solid Sound includes music by Wilco and its members’ side projects, as well as many other soon-to-be-announced musical performers. It also features a full comedy lineup programmed by festival alum John Hodgman, family fun for all ages, local food, craft beer, camping, naturalist activities and more. Set on the 16-acre campus of one of the largest contemporary art museums in the world, just a month after the museum doubles in size with a 120,000 square foot expansion, and with the verdant Berkshires of Western New England as the backdrop, Solid Sound is “an antidote to big-name destination festivals” (Hartford Courant) that “gives the band incentive to tinker and reinvent.” (New York Times)
 
Imagined by Wilco in 2010 and born out of “a desire to make a festival that we wouldn’t be miserable at,” said Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Solid Sound was conceived as a place for Wilco fans to experience both the band and its members’ varied and various side projects within the same live setting. Since 2011, the festival has returned to MASS MoCA every other summer and has featured unique Wilco performances like 2013’s all covers set and 2015’s all-acoustic one. Past performers have included Levon Helm, Neko Case, Mac DeMarco, Mavis Staples, Richard Thompson, Reggie Watts, Bill Frisell, Yo La Tengo, Syl Johnson, Thurston Moore, Cibo Matto, Wyatt Cenac, Lucius and more, all chosen by Wilco.
 
Information on tickets, lineup, lodging and more will be announced soon. Visit solidsoundfestival.com for additional info or to sign up for the festival’s mailing list.  A documentary about the 2013 festival, Every Other Summer, is available via Vimeo.
 
Wilco’s latest album Schmilco is available now on the band’s dBpm Records. The band begins its first-ever tour of South America tonight in Rio de Janeiro. For more information and a complete list of upcoming tour dates please visit wilcoworld.net facebook.com/wilcohq or follow on Twitter @Wilco. 

The Felice Brothers will release a limited edition 7-inch vinyl recording of “Country Ham” on December 9 via Yep Roc Records. The holiday-themed single features a live version of “Murder By Mistletoe” – recorded for Rolling Stone last year in NYC – on the B-side. Both tracks have never before been pressed on vinyl and preorder is available now through The Felice Brothers and Yep Roc stores.
 
“It’s a narrative about feeling lonely on Christmas, and the different emotions that can go with the holidays that aren’t always talked about in the happy-go-lucky songs,” band front man Ian Felice says. 
 
The artwork for “Country Ham” is a nod to the band’s hometown, which features an original painting by Ian titled Palenville in the Snow.
 
In related hometown news, The Felice Brothers will play a Nov. 25 show in Woodstock, NY at The Bearsville Theatre before heading overseas in January. The band’s Life In The Dark European tour will include headline shows in Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Germany and more. A full list of tour dates to follow.
 
The band’s latest full-length release Life In The Dark is available now worldwide. The nine songs featured on the band’s ninth studio album explore modern life in a complicated and divided America, through a cynical and occasionally heartbroken lens, in the tradition of songwriters like John Prine, Shane MacGowan and Michael Hurley.

THE FELICE BROTHERS TOUR DATES
 

The Following Mountain, the newest solo album by experimental folk artist, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Sam Amidon, is out today on Nonesuch Records.

Created with producer Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Regina Spektor) and Amidon’s frequent collaborator Shahzad Ismaily, The Following Mountain represents a new approach for Amidon, who shifts here from his previous norm of re-working traditional folk songs and presents nine wholly original compositions, with some lyrics drawing on traditional sources. The album features a rare guest appearance by drummer Milford Graves, known initially for his work in the 1960s with free jazz legends Albert Ayler and Sonny Sharrock, as well as guest appearances by percussionist Juma Sultan (Jimi Hendrix) and saxophonist Sam Gendel.

A full album stream can be found in this promo link, and a video for the album track “Blackbird” is HERE.

“The Following Mountain is a walk through the thickets of the imagination,” Amidon said, “... a personal mythology of sounds and visions and characters. It is my first album of original music, but is still linked to the Appalachian music I love, as well as improvisation, beats, Don Cherry, Vermont, London."

The Following Mountain is Amidon’s sixth album and follows Lily-O, his 2014 Nonesuch Records collaboration with guitarist Bill Frisell.

Experimental folk artist and composer Sam Amidon has announced new tour dates in support of his latest album, The Following Mountain. The tour is Amidon’s first in the US since 2015 and begins in Seattle on September 23 with additional stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Washington, D.C. and more before culminating in New York City on October 10. The US tour is followed soon-after by a European leg that includes performances in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and more, as well as Amidon’s first headlining performance at London’s Union Chapel on October 26. See below for complete tour details.

Out now on Nonesuch Records, The Following Mountain represents a new approach for Amidon. He shifts here from his previous norm of re-working traditional folk songs and presents nine wholly original compositions, with some lyrics drawing on traditional sources. Created with producer Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Regina Spektor) and Amidon’s frequent collaborator Shahzad Ismaily, the album features guest appearances by drummer Milford Graves, percussionist Juma Sultan and saxophonist Sam Gendel. It is Amidon’s sixth album and follows Lily-O, his 2014 Nonesuch Records collaboration with Bill Frisell.

In The Kingdom of Dreams, the debut solo album by Ian Felice of The Felice Brothers, is out today on Hall of Realms Records (and through Loose in the UK). Hailed as a “solo masterpiece of cosmic simplicity,” by No Depression, it features 10 new songs written by Felice in 2016 and recorded over the course of four days in February of 2017. The album was produced by Ian’s brother Simone Felice (The Lumineers, Bat For Lashes), and recorded with fellow Felice Brothers James Felice on keyboards and Josh Rawson on bass, as well as Simone Felice on drums. It is available now in CD format through ianfelice.com and digitally through iTunes and Spotify.
 
“When I began writing the songs that would become In The Kingdom Of My Dreams many were based on memories of my past but not necessarily all literal or in a logical sequence,” said Felice. “I became interested in the pull between reality and unreality and also in how time affects memory. By the end of 2016 I was run down from touring America, riding out the storm of political mania and juggling a few personal dilemmas (including the revelation that I would soon be a father). In The Kingdom Of Dreams became a place where I could escape from the numbing flood of data that permeates modern life and try to unravel pieces of my past, rearrange memories with dreams or lines from my imagination and construct something that functioned outside the limits of reality.”
 
“Many of the songs deal with childhood memories of Palenville (NY, where Felice grew up) and its people, like the song “In Memoriam” which is partly about the death of my stepfather when I was 8, “Water Street” that confronts my fears of becoming a father, or “21st Century” that deals with mental illness and politics ona more universal level. It only seemed right that I should make the album there, along the green banks of the Katterskill Creek and with my brother Simone as producer. The result is a pretty reflective record that hopefully blows some cobwebs from the window of my psyche.”
 
Hotel Swampland, a companion book of poems written by Felice at the same time as the album, is available now through Ianfelice.com.