The Romeros and dozens of other Candian artists will find out if they’ve won one of the coveted JUNO’s this weekend.
Every year the JUNO’s, Canada’s premiere music awards show, honours Canadian artists from across the country for their continuing work in enriching Canadian culture and music for the world.
The Romeros made up of husband and wife team Pharis and Jason Romero, are up for the 2019 Traditional Roots Album of the Year Award for their recent album Sweet Old Religion. It’s already won them the Traditional Singer and Vocal Group of 2019 at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, the 2019 Penguin Eggs Album of the Year and a variety of other awards and accolades.
The JUNO’s will be broadcast live this year from London, Ontario this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET and will be hosted by 12 JUNO Award winner Sarah McLachlan, however, the JUNO’s will discover whether they won the prestigious award Saturday evening during a gala event.
Previously the couple won a JUNO back in 2016 for their album A Wanderer I’ll Stay. While Jason and Pharis are very excited and honoured to have been nominated, they will not be attending the JUNO’s this year.
Read More: Romeros nominated for JUNO award, Traditional Roots Album of the Year
Recently, the family returned from a trip to Hawaii and Pharis and Jason will be going on tour in Europe in early April. As such Pharis said the family feels that adding in a four day minimum trip to the JUNO’s was too much and that they instead wished to spend the time in between their trips home with their family. In addition, the two have orders they need to complete for their banjo shop.
“We so wish that we could go because we’ve heard it’s such a brilliant time, they roll the red carpet right out for you. It’d be amazing to connect with our musical community because they are so many people playing music in Canada right now,” Pharis said. “It was a hard decision but it’s a lot of travel to get all the way across the country from Horsefly to London.”
The atmosphere and venue, Pharis said, is wonderful and she and Jason look forward to getting more opportunities in the future to connect with other players in the music business.
Should they win the award this year, Pharis and Jason have designated their friend Trent Freeman of the stringed instrumental roots group The Fretless, who are themselves up for an award. The couple doesn’t plan to hold any type of viewing party here during the JUNO’s and plan to follow along on the live stream. Pharis observed it’s likely, however, they’ll find out from friends in the audience texting them first, whatever the outcome.
“To be nominated, in such amazing company, it’s such an honour. I’d be happy to lose to any one of those bands,” Pharis said.
Read More: Romeros nab two Canadian Folk Music Awards at annual celebration
Win or lose, Pharis said she and Jason are just happy to have been nominated and for the fact that an organization like the JUNO’s exists to honour and celebrate the wide range of Canadain artists.
patrick.davies@wltribune.com
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