The Horsenecks are Gabrielle Macrae and Barry Southern from Astoria, Oregon. Gabrielle plays fiddle, bass, banjo, harmonium, and guitar and sings. Barry plays guitar, banjo, and dobro and also sings. On this recording, they are joined on various tracks by Rick Epping on harmonica and concertina, Lyke Ydstie and Brian Bagdonas on bass, Kevin Sandri on guitar, Olaf Ydstie on drums, Kati Claborn on oohs and harmonium. With a few exceptions, these are original tunes and songs.

“Baker City Blues” and “In the West” were written by Gabrielle. The first tune is a sort of air with the harmonica and concertina helping to shape the sound. The second is a song about time spent in western terrain. She wrote music for “Little Old Sod Shanty.” The lyrics come from Alan Lomax’ “The Folk Songs of North America” with credit to Linden Baker from West Virginia. It’s a lament by a miner who goes west to work a claim. She also wrote “Never Been So Far from Home” and “Good Times Gone.” The first is about traveling. The second is a fiddle tune. “I Will Arise” is a traditional gospel song from Kilby Snow. Barry’s dobro’s plaintive tones add to the tight harmony. Barry wrote the guitar instrumental “Lily in the Garden.” “Mountain Rain,” which has a western cowboy theme of loss and retribution, is from Scottish singer Archie Fisher. Barry sings lead. “Heel and Toe,” a song about wandering in the woods that Gabrielle leads, and “The Brushy Forks of Lucas’s Beard,” a fiddle tune, are by Gabrielle. The liner notes do not say who Lucas is. “Trouble on the Mainline” was co-written by Gabrielle and Barry is a song about hard times. The last two tunes, “Sweater Bag” and “Jinny Lin’s Tunes,” are also original tunes by Gabrielle. The first is a gentle guitar piece. The second is a hard-driving fiddle tune.

I’ve been enjoying the original and very creative music from this duo for a while now, and you likely would, too.

You can order this recording as a CD, an LP, or a digital download on their Bandcamp Channel