THANKSGIVING Day came early to The Basement , where mutual thanks were being exchanged by Catskill Mountain singer and songwriter Simone Felice and his enraptured audience on Wednesday night.

Felice would be absent from his family’s celebrations yesterday, he explained in hushed, sad tones, but in their stead he was so appreciative of the love and warmth he felt from the Basement or “bunker” as he re-crowned it.

In turn, the full house was grateful for experiencing Felice’s sublime musicianship so up close and personal. He is a regular visitor to these shores, playing York, Leeds and Pocklington in different configurations, whether in the now disbanded The Duke & The King or with assorted line-ups under his own name. For those who love their Gram & Emmylou, Dolly & Porter and Johnny & June, now add Simone & Anna.

Anna Mitchell, from County Cork, Ireland, has graduated from supporting Felice to performing in an acoustic duo; he on guitar, vocals and shards of wit; she on harmonium, piano and harmony vocals that bring a new dimension to the opening New York Times and the stand-out If You Ever Get Famous, later complemented on occasion by support act Dan Whitehouse.

Felice’s two solo albums were prominent in the 17-song set of beauteous love, loss, mystery and mischief, but he also dipped into the Felice Brothers’ past and re-traced his steps down The Duke & The King’s Union Street. “Wish you were here,” he sang, covering the Pink Floyd epic in tenderness as a message to his family. We were just glad we had been there; Strangers may be the latest album title, but we all felt like old friends by the end. So did the songs.