The Horsenecks

The Horsenecks are Gabrielle Macrae and Barry Southern, two multi-instrumentalists based in Astoria, Oregon. Drawing on their traditional music backgrounds, they weave together early Appalachian stringband music, classic country, bluegrass, and original folk.

Gabrielle’s fiddle style grew from being raised in Portland, Oregon’s Old Time music scene and years of traveling to festivals and learning from leading players in the fiddle traditions of the Southeast US. She gained recognition as a clawhammer banjo player with the Macrae Sisters and formed the Horsenecks with Barry after they met at a music festival in 2012.

Barry’s banjo and guitar playing ranges from high-octane to moody and captivating. He plays flatpicking, clawhammer, and three-finger banjo. For over 20 years, he has been a prominent part of Liverpool’s music scene, playing lead guitar with Tramp Attack, banjo with The Loose Moose Stringband, and in multiple groups in the UK’s bluegrass and Old Time scene.

Both songwriters bring together traditional music backgrounds and modern influences from many genres to create songs that speak to their place in the evolving story of traditional music. Their sound puts deft musicianship, creative instincts, and powerful harmony singing front and center.