Ian Felice

Ian Felice (born January 18, 1982) is an American musician, painter and poet born and raised in the Catskill Mountains of New York. He is the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Felice Brothers and holds a B.F.A. in painting from the Pratt Institute.^[1]

Ian Felice
Birth name	Ian Felice
Born	(1982-01-18) January 18, 1982 (age 43)
Origin	Palenville, NY, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Painter, Songwriter, Poet
Years active	2005-present
Website	ianfelice.com

Early life

Felice was raised in the hamlet of Palenville, NY. His parents split up when he was a newborn and his mother raised him and his two siblings as a single mom. His mother remarried, however, his step-father battled drug addiction and died of an overdose when Ian was 8 years old.^[2] This experience influenced Felice's song "In Memoriam" off of his solo record, In the Kingdom of Dreams.^[3] While naming William Blake as his biggest artistic influence, Ian has said that his mother is his strongest influence as a person.^[4] When Ian was 18, he moved to New York to study art and soon after began writing songs and performing with his brothers Simone and James. The Felice Brothers was conceived in 2006 after the recording of Iantown, a 10-song album of Felice’s first songs recorded in one night in January 2006.^[5]

In the Kingdom of Dreams (Solo album)

In the Kingdom of Dreams is Felice's first solo record. The LP was released via Loose on August 25, 2017 and was recorded at Sugar Mountain Studios^[6] in Palenville, NY over the course of four days in February 2017.^[7] It was produced by Simone Felice and features appearances by his brother James Felice on keyboards and Josh Rawson on bass.^[8]

The cover art is a painting titled "Death on a Pale Horse" by 19th-century painter Albert Pinkham Ryder.^[9]

The bulk of the songs were written in 2016 at a time when Felice found out that he was going to be a first time father.^[10]

Painting

Felice's background as a visual artist has informed his music and, by extension, his literary productions. He painted the covers for some of The Felice Brothers’ albums, including their Christmas album on vinyl Country Ham and Murder by Mistletoe (2016), Favorite Waitress (2014), and Undress (2019).^[11]

Additionally, Conor Oberst used Felice's painting, The Creation of the Bulls, as the cover art for his solo album Upside Down Mountain.^[12]

His painting, Invitation to Summer, served as the cover for The Poetry Review - Spring 2022 Edition.^[13]

Felice's work was featured in Solid Gold, Half Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (November 18, 2023 - December 20, 2023)^[14] and he will be making his first NYC solo debut at the Half Gallery Annex, New York City, NY. The show, titled If the Hoarfrost Could Speak, runs from February 13, 2024 - March 16, 2024.^[15]

Published works of poetry

• Hotel Swampland (Self-published, 2017)
  • Hotel Swampland is a companion book of poems written at the same time as his solo record, In the Kingdom of Dreams.^[16]
• The Moon Over Edgar (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2022)
  • The Moon Over Edgar was released on February 14, 2022.^[17]