Some may say working with your spouse is a challenge. In fact, some people would refer to it as a nightmare. 

Whoever thought up the stereotype has obviously never seen or heard Tim and Kristen Whiteford perform music.

Together, the couple forms two-thirds of the band Bosco and Whiteford, which plays a combination of country, Americana and bluegrass music. Tim, Kristen and Toby Merriman, fiddle player, mandolin player, and vocalist, will bring Bosco and Whiteford to the Rustle Hill Winery stage 6 p.m. Friday.

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Tim Whiteford and Kristen Bosco met in November 2007 during an open mic night at the old Hangar 9. It would not take long before the two formed something special.

“We hit it off and started playing music together right away,” Tim said. “By January of 2008, we were living together and gigging out as a duo under the name Bosco and Whiteford.”

In February 2008, the duo auditioned for the Country Music Television show “Can You Duet.” From a pool of thousands, the power couple made it to the final 12. Their vocals feed off each other in a manner reminiscent of the late Johnny and June Cash.

After the CMT show, the two released an EP in the summer of 2008 and went on tour around the Midwest and East coast with a full band under the name “Bosco & Whiteford and the New Stampede.”

The Whitefords married in 2009 and have two children. Because of the time they devote to their family, the two have stayed in Carbondale. Kristen is seeking her master’s degree from SIU in behavior analysis and therapy and Tim performs in several local bands such as Raw Flesh Eaters, the Timmy Whiteford Band and Barnacle Billy and the Zebra Mussels.

The trio recorded a full-length album in Murphysboro at Misunderstudio in 2012. However, there is no release date yet because of their busy schedules.

Kyle Sutton can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter @KyleSutton_DE or by phone at 536-3311 ext. 254.

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