Growing up in Detroit, singer Felice Rosser (who also plays bass and keyboards) absorbed the great music the city had to offer, ranging from Motown to the Stooges (technically from Ann Arbor, but close enough), and the MC5. Of course, she listened to classic rock, funk, and soul too, and she eventually made her way east to NYC to attend Barnard College.

Studying piano and clarinet from an early age, her taste in music inevitably led her to a guitar. She played bass with 70s groups ranging from reggae to punk to new wave. The Slits, Bush Tetras, experimental rock artist (and Captain Beefheart ex-pat) Gary Lucas, and artist  Jean-Michel Basquiat.

A soulful vocalist, Rosser brought all her to talents to bear when she founded FaithNYC in 1986, melding her influences into an eclectic stew the Village Voice dubbed, “multiculti dream pop.” The group found its way to the “Black Rock Coalition” founded by Living Color’s Vernon Reid. Having released several EPs in the past,Rosser and her band reported have a new album ready to go. The single, “Love Is a Wish Away,” dropped just weeks ago. Here’s hoping that album is coming soon.