Pharis and Jason Romero
“Magnificent and inviting.”
– Bluegrass Unlimited
“There are inevitable comparisons with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, but this couple deserve to make their own headlines.”
– The Daily Express (UK)
With a new album on the prestigious Smithsonian Folkways label being released the opening day of our festival, the multi Juno Award-winning duo of Pharis and Jason Romero add another milestone to their long list of accomplishments.
Their bio sums it up perfectly: “They’re nice people who play folk music. One of them laughs a lot, and one of them is a bit mysterious. They’ve won some awards.”
Among the accolades is the 2021 Juno Award for Traditional Roots Album of the Year, and three-time winners of the Canadian Folk Music Awards for ensemble, vocal group, and traditional singer. With a perfect blend of harmonies and the ancient tones of vintage and lovingly-crafted new instruments, we are thrilled to welcome this much-loved pair to our festival.
Pharis and Jason perform as a duo on Friday night. On Saturday evening, they will be joined by Mark Jenkins on pedal steel and Max Heineman on bass.
”There’s something ancient and aching about the Romeros, a sound that feels like a reverberation from the past, even as the songs are a perfect antidote to this sped-up, modern world. Sweet Old Religion is particularly good medicine” – No Depression