They ‘sing in your house when you’re not there’

Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler could claim they were from Nashville - until April 2015. That was the year they traded their day jobs for a permanent life on the road as the musical duo The Rough and Tumble. They share their 16-foot camper with two large canine companions and a stable of instruments.

The caravan pulls into White Horse Black Mountain for a show Thursday, Sept. There they’ll treat the audience to an evening of close harmonies, versatile instrumentation and well-crafted original songs.

Graham and Tyler released their first EP in 2011, a foreshadowing of some of the off-kilter, tongue-in-cheek titles to come. “We Sing in Your House When You’re Not There…we even ordered pizza” is an exploration of watching other people’s dogs while eating their food.

That was followed by “We Don’t Believe in Monsters any More…but will you please check under under our beds” and 2012’s “For You, Now That You’re Married…and for me, too.” Other efforts have included an appreciation campaign for under-recognized holidays (Meteor Day, Boxing Day?) and film soundtrack work.

The Rough and Tumble’s wry, sly humor often takes aim at serious and even mournful subjects. But the instrumental accompaniment and harmonies are always assured and professional, vagabond image notwithstanding. Graham and Tyler’s act has been characterized as “haunting, quirky, solemn and spritely, singing sad songs and telling bad jokes until the next town calls them.”

Silly to sublime

Who: The Rough and Tumble

When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7

Where: White Horse Black Mountain

Cost: $10 advance, $12 door