Pharis & Jason Romero “Leave the Garden Gate Open” (premiere)

Sometimes, folk music is at its best when it leaves its often heady tales of humanity to shine a light on its more transient amusements instead. Horsefly, British Columbia’s Pharis & Jason Romero know a thing or two about looking back with a smile on those little things, as is evident with their newest single, “Leave the Garden Gate Open”.

Pharis tells PopMatters, “After a melty hot summer’s day ice cream cone at a bluegrass festival, our daughter Indi reached out her sticky little hand and asked, ‘Can I get just a little bit more? Just a little bit more?’ This song evolved about 10 minutes after. From the first notes, the circus-style section was in my head, and Patrick Metzger (bass and bowed bass), Marc Jenkins (pedal steel played with a trumpet tuning jet), John Reischman (mandolin) and Josh Rabie (fiddle) all brought it to life. There’s a meow somewhere in there too.”

The sweet, jangly tune is from the Juno-winning couple’s latest album, Sweet Old Religion. Their newest offering from the album is a softhearted, breezy romp that sounds like how time spent with family on the front porch in the midst of a mild summer’s day feels. Sweet Old Religion is set to be released on 18 May via Lula.