-
1
Humming Machines
02:54
/
-
2
Maybe Maybelline
04:18
/
“beautiful song writing and steller musicianship”
— Iowa City Music Scene
“Always a delight”
— Little Village
“this show is wildly good”
— Des Moines Cityview
“With tight three-part harmony, outstanding songcraft and hot acoustic picking, The Feralings will put on a show you that will draw you in and keep you there”
— MountVernonCreates.com
“a soaring take on bluegrass”
— TheMilkCarton.com
“simply put, damn good original music”
— Summer of the Arts
“Nicole’s voice is slightly breathless, warm and uncontrived enough to draw in her audience after only a few lines”
— The Gazette
Bio
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Diesel. Morning glories. AM radio. These all influence Iowa acoustic roots trio The
Feralings, as do the gently sloping landscapes of the Iowa countryside and the sound of tornado sirens
squealing and the rumble of trucks on I-80. Their songwriting reflects parenthood, friendship,
imperfection, magic, and a big love for storytelling, as well as the folk, bluegrass, jazz, alt-country,
Americana, gospel, and roots that form each member’s musical DNA.
In the late 90’s Patrick Bloom (guitar, upright bass, vocals) cut his teeth in the critically acclaimed Iowa
roots bands The Mayflies and The Letterpress Opry, and by the early aughts progressed to producing
records and releasing several noteworthy solo albums. Also during the early aughts, Nicole Upchurch
(clawhammer banjo, guitar, vocals) and Benj Upchurch (mandolin, vocals, charming smiles) moved to
Iowa by way of Montana, hauling their charisma, humor, and a busload of instruments behind them.
Nicole, being the blacksheep banjo player in a family of accomplished jazz musicians, joined Iowa's
all-female quintet, Awful Purdies, and Benj, having worked as a luthier at Weber Mandolins back West,
decided to put aside building mandolins and started playing one. Eventually gravity pulled them together
with Stacy Webster of The Mayflies and Winterland (guitar, vocals), and in 2012 The Feralings were born.
In May of 2012 The Feralings released Corn Crib Demo, a three song EP recorded in an honest-to-god
corn crib in the muggy, buggy Iowa countryside, with multiple dogs and pigs coming and going as they
pleased. In 2013 the band began recording a full length album in Bloom’s basement, but unfortunately
due to a series of technical, medical, emotional, tactical, familial, geographical, and Murphy’s-Law-ical
events, the recording was forced to exist in the ether for several years. In 2017 Webster left the band and
Bloom took over guitar responsibilities, as the remaining trio worked to bring a pile of new material into
the band and wrap the long-awaited album.
A new album will be released later in 2018, and in the meanwhile The Feralings continue to perform,
traveling a vast musical landscape, giving intimate, stirring performances, and telling their stories to the
world.
Press Photos
Feralings Live
Feralings Headshot
Album Cover, The Feralings