Pharis and Jason Romero
Pharis and Jason Romero are a Canadian folk music duo, most noted as two-time Juno Award winners for Traditional Roots Album of the Year. They won the award at the Juno Awards of 2016 for their album A Wanderer I'll Stay,[1] and at the Juno Awards of 2018 for Sweet Old Religion.[2]
Pharis and Jason Romero | |
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Origin | Horsefly, British Columbia, Canada |
Genres | folk, bluegrass |
Years active | 2007 | –present
Website | Official website |
Members | Pharis Romero Jason Romero |
A husband and wife duo from Horsefly, British Columbia,[3] they record and perform traditional bluegrass music, They also operate a business, handcrafting guitars and banjos.[3][4][5]
History
The pair met at an old-time fiddle jam and later married.[6] They have released four albums as a duo, one with the short-lived project Haints Oldtime String Band, and one collaborative album with guest fiddlers.[7]
They won a Canadian Folk Music Award for New/Emerging Artist of the Year at the 8th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2012 for A Passing Glimpse.[7] At the 9th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2013, their album Long Gone Out West Blues was a shortlisted nominee for Traditional Album of the Year, and Pharis Romero won the award for Traditional Singer of the Year, and at the 11th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2015 they garnered four nominations for A Wanderer I'll Stay, including Traditional Album of the Year, Traditional Singer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Producer of the Year.[8]
In 2016 the couple's workshop caught fire, destroying many of their musical instruments.[4] The workshop was rebuilt, and used as a studio for the recording of their 2018 album, Sweet Old Religion, which combines jazz, blues and country.[6][9] They received three more Canadian Folk Music Award nominations at the 14th Canadian Folk Music Awards, for Best Vocal Group, Best Ensemble and Best Traditional Singer, and won the Juno Award for Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019.
Discography
- Shout Monah (2009, with Haints Oldtime String Band)
- Back Up and Push (2010, as Jason & Pharis Romero and Friends)
- A Passing Glimpse (2011)
- Long Gone Out West Blues (2013)
- A Wanderer I'll Stay (2015)
- Sweet Old Religion (2018)
References
- "Junos 2016: complete list of winners (so far)". CBC Music, April 2, 2016.
- "Junos 2019: the complete list of winners". CBC Music, March 16, 2019.
- "Musical duo plucks an idyllic life; Romero crafts instruments and plays old-time music with his wife". The Province, April 5, 2013.
- Roger Levesque, "Contemporary musicians have folk-roots tuned to nature, jazz roots tuned to 1920s". Kingston Whig-Standard, October 16, 2018.
- "Building the perfect banjo: Pharis and Jason Romero inspired by B.C.'s Cariboo region". CBC News, March 11, 2018.
- Anna Borowiecki, "Chatter celebrates Pharis and Jason Romero, Bridget Ryan and Maggie Tree". St. Albert Gazette, October 16, 2018.
- "Duo enjoys a marriage of minds and music". Edmonton Journal, August 8, 2014.
- "Focus is on folk in Edmonton on Sunday; Music awards laud genre's best". Calgary Herald, November 7, 2015.
- Kristin Cavoukian, "Pharis and Jason Romero Sweet Old Religion". Exclaim!, May 17, 2018.