The Duke, The King, and The Church

Tonight I caught another show in the intimate side chapel of Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church (same place I saw J. Tillman a few weeks ago).

Tonight's show was Simone Felice's (of the Felice Brothers) band named "The Duke and The King" (names after the characters in Huckleberry Finn). The group consists of Bobby Bird on bass/guitar and vocals,Nowell Haskins on drums/vocals, Simi Stone on violin/vocals. During their performance the band did quite a bit of moving around as they traded instruments back and forth but those were they primary roles for most of the show. Additionally, twice in the performance Simone stepped aside to let Bobby perform two songs on his own.

Overall I was delightfully impressed with this performance. The combined country folk and soulful songs from the group's debut album "Nothing Gold Can Stay" certainly held up, if were not better, in this live setting. Everyone in the group has a really strong voice (especially Simi and Nowell) and the backup vocals and harmonies really stood out. Not to mention the group had a ton of energy (at one point they even came out into the isle of the crowd) and it seemed as though they were having a great time.

Really some great songwriting and overall good music. I highly suggest giving this album a listen or catching them live.


If You Ever Get Famous


One More American Song