Follow Simone Felice she said. Well thanks Viv! Where to start looking? Felice Brothers? Ian Felice? – too damned obvious. The choice of ‘Bye Bye Pallenville’ offered up the possibility of another leaving song or maybe a small-town song? or possibly something relating to the Catskill Mountains? After giving each due consideration and ultimately discarding them I was back to square one. Then I remembered the two very fine albums that Simone Felice made with The Duke & The King. Anyone who has listened to those records ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ (2009) and ‘Long Live The Duke & The King’ (2010) or better still saw them perform live, will remember the striking voice of Simi Stone who was also a key member of that band’s soulful sound.
Simi went on to release two solo albums, her self-titled debut in 2015 and ‘The Rescue’ in 2019. She has also been much in demand as a guest and backing singer having recorded with Natalie Merchant, Neko Case, Conor Oberst and Amy Helm amongst many others in recent years. An accomplished visual artist, Simi has also hosted an exhibition of her art in her hometown of Woodstock. In 2018 she accompanied David Byrne on his world tour. The track featured here comes from her first album and is called ‘Pyramid’.
