Lumineers and Bright Eyes lead Felice Brothers tribute album
Sony Records will release Felice County Fair on Oct. 16, with more than two dozen covers honoring the upstate New York roots band.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
The Felice Brothers are getting a full-scale salute this fall, with the Lumineers, Bright Eyes, Dawes, Nathaniel Rateliff and more lined up for a tribute album devoted to the band’s songs.
Rolling Stone reports that Felice County Fair: A Celebration of the Felice Brothers is due Oct. 16 on Sony Records. The project will feature more than two dozen tracks, though the complete roster of performers has not yet been announced.
The confirmed names already give the album plenty of roots-rock muscle. According to Rolling Stone, the set includes the Lumineers, Bright Eyes, Old Crow Medicine Show, Nathaniel Rateliff, Dawes, Brandon Flowers, Bebe Stockwell and Deer Tick.
A few song choices have also been revealed. Old Crow Medicine Show takes on “Penn Station,” while Dawes covers “Jazz on the Autobahn.” The first two previews from the record come from the Lumineers, who perform “The Kid,” and Bright Eyes, who cover “Wonderful Life.”
A cult favorite gets a bigger spotlight
The Felice Brothers began in the mid-2000s with siblings James, Ian and Simone Felice, Rolling Stone reports. Over roughly two decades, the group has built a reputation as an influential roots act, even if broad commercial success has not matched that reach.
The lineup has shifted over the years. Simone Felice left the band long ago, according to Rolling Stone, and bassist Jesske Hume and drummer Will Lawrence have helped anchor the group for the past eight years. James and Ian Felice have remained central as songwriters.
Wesley Schultz of the Lumineers told Rolling Stone that the band has been “this underground secret,” adding, “And we don’t want them to be the best kept secret in music anymore.”
Schultz said he first encountered “The Kid,” a Felice Brothers song from 2017, after going to the band’s annual New Year’s Eve shows in Kingston, New York. Speaking to Rolling Stone, he praised the writing for saying a lot with very few words and compared its impact to a small blade that reaches the heart rather than a blunt instrument built to move a crowd.
He also told the magazine that the song changed how he thought about addiction and compassion through songwriting, saying listeners end up crying for and rooting for its character.
Bright Eyes’ long-running connection
Conor Oberst has his own history with the Felice Brothers. Rolling Stone notes that he released their 2024 album Valley of Abandoned Songs on his label and has brought them in as his backing band.
For the tribute album, Bright Eyes chose “Wonderful Life,” a ballad from the Felice Brothers’ 2008 self-titled album.
In a statement reported by Rolling Stone, Oberst said, “Whatever little checkmarks in my heart need to be checked to make the perfect music, they check all those things.” He added that he wants other listeners to feel the same kind of transformation he has felt from the band’s art.
With more contributors still under wraps, Felice County Fair is shaping up as a formal nod from a circle of artists who have been carrying Felice Brothers songs close for years.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.