Andrew and Brad Barr spent more than a decade playing as part of rock trio The Slip. At one of The Slip’s shows in Montreal in 2004, a fire broke out and the band — along with everyone else — had to evacuate quickly. Andrew offered his coat to one of the waitresses as everyone watched fire crews arrive. That woman is now one of the managers for The Barr Brothers. A year after the fire, Andrew and Brad moved to Montreal, and the woman living next to them happened to be a wonderful harpist named Sarah Page. Page is now one of the foursome that make up The Barr Brothers. Add multi-instrumentalist Andres Vial, and you’ve got a talented group who are producing gorgeous folk tunes, “Beggar In The Morning” among them.

It’s not often I feel compelled to repeat a group’s backstory. But reading how the pieces came together to form The Barr Brothers band makes one appreciate the music they’re making now. “Beggar In The Morning” is superbly arranged, and its melodic peaks and valleys are thoroughly entertaining. To me, the song seems to be a metaphor for today’s world. The humdrum activities of the working world that give way to the endless possibilities after sunset. We’re all more alive when untethered — free from work, from bills, from responsibility — and it seems easiest to feel that way when staring up at a star-filled sky. That’s what “Beggar In The Morning” is about to me. But listen and decide for yourself.

The Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning by The Wounded Jukebox