The Barr Brothers On World Cafe

XPN | By Talia Schlanger

Published February 12, 2018 at 12:08 PM EST

Montreal's The Barr Brothers are an indie folk ensemble with a twist — a big twist! Brad Barr sings and plays guitar, his brother Andrew plays drums, and the twist? That's Sarah Pagé, who plays a harp taller than our 6'2" producer, John Myers. Sarah's instrument is rigged with pickups and effects pedals normally used for electric guitar.

In this session, Sarah breaks down her impressive setup and demonstrates the unique rock 'n' roll sound she can pull out of an instrument that usually looks more at home in a symphony than in an indie touring van. Listen in the player above and see it for yourself in the performance video as Brad, Andrew and Sarah, along with Brett Lanier, Morgan Moore and Lisa Iwanycki perform songs from The Barr Brothers' latest album, Queens of The Breakers.

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Talia Schlanger

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.

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