The Woodstock Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday, October 14, with the debut screening of Lunatic Dreamers: The Felice Brothers at Assembly Hall in Kingston. The documentary, directed by Tiller Russell, premiered before a sold-out audience and also featured a Q&A with the band, as well as a live performance.
“Your favorite band’s favorite band” is an often used quote to give praise to an influential and yet relatively unheard of band. And yet, there may not be a more appropriate and fitting way to describe The Felice Brothers. It was in 2007 when the Catskills natives stepped off their old, rusty Winnebago and on to the stage to open for indie rock favorites, Bright Eyes. That tour undoubtedly earned the band throngs of fans and paved the way for what has now become two decades of music, and a resume which boasts 12 studio albums and multiple EPs.
Throughout the years, the band has remained independent and largely unrecognized in mainstream music, often by choice of brothers Ian and James Felice. Their list of fans and supporters includes music heavyweights such as Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), The Lumineers, Deer Tick, and Brandon Flowers (The Killers). Although the lineup has changed over the years, with fellow brother and co-founder Simone Felice departing in 2009, further changes followed in 2018, when bassist Christmas and Greg Farley (fiddle, washboard) were replaced by bassist Jesske Hume and drummer William Lawrence.
The evening kicked off with a warm welcome from festival co-founder and executive director, Meira Blaustein, along with Tiller Russell before the premier of Lunatic Dreamers. The 90 minute film offers a glimpse into the world of The Felice Brothers, showing video of their recording process as they contemplate the opportunity of signing a major label deal with Sony. True independents at heart, the film showcases the band as they wrestle with the need for financial stability, and the opportunity before them, as well as the challenges that come with that.
The documentary touches on opportunities the band have passed on over the years, including an offer to work with famed producer Rick Rubin (“We passed and opted to make the record in our chicken coop, instead”, Jame Felice remarked), as well declining music licensing deals on various occasions, with James mentioning his brother Ian was displeased when he once accepted an offer.
The movie includes extensive footage from “Felice County Fair”, a musical performance at 2026’s Newport Folk Festival where the band was joined by many of the artists making up a newly released tribute album of the same name. Performances include Brandon Flowers (The Killers), The Lumineers, Deer Tick, and Dawes, showcasing the wide reach the Felice Brothers have on the music industry.
The film features stunning visuals of the band at home and in their studio and is paired with live concert footage and old home movies. The movie brilliantly captures the pressure of recording an album and the desire not only for financial stability, but an overall longing for recognition for their craft. It is certainly a must see, not only for fans of the Felice Brothers, but music lovers alike.
Following the screening, brothers Ian and James took the stage, along with Russell for a brief Q&A hosted by Will Hermes. The conversation touched on the early inspiration for the film (after Russell and Ian Felice had discussed collaborating on a different film project) before the band took questions from the audience, which humorously offered the band the opportunity to dispel the online myth that James Felice slipped Conor Oberst a demo tape when James was working as an ambulance driver. “I’m pretty sure that would be unethical”, Felice said with a laugh.
Finally, the band closed out the evening with a 5 song performance, performing “Lincoln Continental” and “The Mating of the Doves”, along with three, yet to be released tracks (of which glimpses were heard during the documentary). It was a perfect bookend to the evening, allowing the modest band to step on to the stage where they have performed so many times, and showcase why they have created such a legacy, even before the big labels came.
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