The Felice Brothers To Be Celebrated With 'Felice County Fair' Album

07-20-2026

(Free Flight Records) The Felice Brothers, Catskills natives and revered songwriters Ian and James, are getting their due. Felice County Fair, a tribute album celebrating the band's catalog, will be released Oct. 16 via Free Flight Records/Sun Mountain Records.

"A couple years ago, a friend and advocate of the band named Brandy Schultz called us with a vision to create a tribute record to our band and wanted to ask for our blessing," shared Ian Felice in a note to fans. "Brandy is a uniquely powerful force of nature who usually has the ingredients to make margaritas in a cooler in her car. It's two years later now and somehow, by her sheer will and the devotion of many wonderful musicians and producers, her vision has become a reality. The fact that so many artists have contributed to this project simply out of a love for our music fills us with both bewilderment and gratitude."

"When Brandy and I first started dating, we each made a mix CD for each other, like a playlist," said The Lumineers frontman Wesley Schultz of his wife, a driving force behind the project. "We each put Felice Brothers on our playlists...it was then I knew she was a keeper. A lot of our initial falling in love was listening to The Felice Brothers."

Felice County Fair features more than two dozen tracks from The Felice Brothers' decades-long discography covered by friends and fans of the band, amounting to a who's-who of 21st century Americana and folk music. It is a fitting homage for a group whose catalog has served as an aspirational touchstone for a generation of artists.

"Whatever little check marks in my heart need to be checked to make the perfect music, they check all those things," said Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst. "The poetry is there, the soulfulness is there, the song craft. Everything is so genuine. I want the world for them, and I want people to have the same experience I've had with how they've transformed my life with their art."

Added Wesley Schultz, "My favorite thing to say about other artists is: 'I wish I would've written that.' The envy is the only way I know someone wrote a good song. And that's so true with many Felice Brothers songs; when I play someone a Felice Brothers song, they always leave as a fan wanting more. It's just a matter of getting the word out.

The first releases - Bright Eyes' take on "Wonderful Life" and The Lumineers' "The Kid" - are available now. Additional album highlights include Old Crow Medicine Show's version of "Penn Station," and Dawes' rendition of "Jazz on the Autobahn," while other contributors include Brandon Flowers, Deer Tick, Nathaniel Rateliff, Bebe Stockwell, and many more. Further details will be revealed soon.

Simultaneously, the definitive documentary film about the Felice Brothers is being directed by Tiller Russell and produced by iconic fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, the artist collective Love and Squalor Quarterly, and Sony Music Nashville. The film is scheduled to premiere concurrently with the album in fall 2026.

The Felice Brothers have several upcoming live dates confirmed, including the Felice County Fair after party at Newport Folk Festival (July 25), plus festivals and headline dates across Europe.

THE FELICE BROTHERS LIVE
2026
July 18 / Hollerhorn Distilling / Naples, NY
July 19 / Rec Room / Buffalo, NY
July 25 / Jane Pickens Film and Event Center / Newport, RI (sold out)
Aug. 26 / Tønder Festival / Tønder, Denmark
Aug. 29 / Found Festival / Middle Claydon, U.K.
Aug. 30 / The Long Road Festival / Lutterworth, U.K.
Sept. 1 / Norwich Arts Centre / Norwich, U.K.
Sept. 2 / 100 Club / London, U.K. (sold out)
Sept. 3 / The Boileroom / Guildford, U.K.
Sept. 6 / End of the Road Festival / Salisbury, U.K.

2027
Feb. 10 / Irish Centre / Leeds, U.K.
Feb. 11 / Gorilla / Manchester, U.K.
Feb. 12 / The Fire Station / Sunderland, U.K.
Feb. 13 / Queen's Hall / Edinburgh, U.K.
Feb. 16 / The Globe / Cardiff, U.K.
Feb. 17 / Lantern Hall / Bristol, U.K.
Feb. 18 / O2 Shepherds Bush Empire / London, U.K.
Feb. 19 / Rescue Rooms / Nottingham, U.K.
Feb. 20 / The Crossing / Birmingham, U.K.