The Felice Brothers are timeless. You may find them among the old tin sorrows of the dust bowl, behind the bolted door of a speakeasy, or taking center stage in their own tall tale. They are the sons of a carpenter and the Catskill mountains, good time buddies, buskers, dreamers, and drifters; giving voice to the ghosts of America's past.
The Felice Brothers began their career in the subways stations of New York. They have since taken stages from the street to the coliseum; belting their somber stories out in all of their ramshackled glory. Inhabiting these stories are bootleggers, welterweights, crooked reverends, tragic beauties, and other such characters painted so vividly you'll swear they must live and breathe. Writing from the heart of America's dark side, The Felice Brothers have strummed life into some of the finest modern folk tales. A musical celebration societies underbelly and the hopeful souls who live there.
The Districts are an impressive young four-piece from Lititz, in Lancaster County. The band channeled the rock-and-soul vibe of Cold War Kids and Spoon; singer Rob Grote’s searing voice cut across the concert hall, blending with the band’s smartly-arranged instrumental interplay. They do the very Pixies loud-quiet-LOUD thing, but in a more textured way than simply turning their overdrive pedals on and off. A thundering swell cuts, leaving a clean guitar arpeggio floating in space as Grote catches his breath; the verses build in waves, with the heaviness sometimes derived just from Braden Lawrence’s drums. Grote is an intense, emphatic, occasionally bewildering stage presence – he kicks, stomps and snarls, both at the mic and far away – but guitarist Mark Larson and bassist Connor Jacobus hold their own, shuffling and bobbing and giving the overall band a dynamic stage presence. Check out “Four and Four” from their album Telephone.
