Talks & Entertainment

This event will take place in our Downstairs venue with mostly standing room. For those who require seating, please call 202.408.3100 in advance.

The Barr Brothers are a folk quartet founded in Montreal, Quebec, featuring brothers Brad (guitar and vocals) and Andrew (drums), classical harpist Sarah Pagé, and pianist/bassist Andrès Vial.  The group tours this fall in support of the release of its long-awaited follow-up album, the intense and expansive Sleeping Operator, out October 7 on Secret City Records.

The 13 songs on Sleeping Operator are meditative and explosive, exploring the far reaches of folk laced with West African influences, hypnotic modernist pulsing and beyond. While the record extends into cinematic and other-worldly territories, it maintains a campfire-like intimacy throughout.

The album was produced by The Barr Brothers and recorded and mixed by Ryan Freeland (Bonnie Raitt, Aimee Mann, Ray Lamontagne) in Montreal and Los Angeles. The band was joined by local neighborhood guests from Arcade Fire (Richard Reed Parry), Patrick Watson’s band, The Luyas, Bassekou Kouyate’s band and Little Scream along the way. Known for their unique orchestrations, the band used a plethora of instruments to embellish this album including a variety of horns, marimba, ngoni (West African stringed instrument), an instrument made by a fan called a cardboardium, hammered dulcimer, and pedal steel to make a sound that is sui generis.