Stand-up comedian Jeremiah Coughlan returns to Baker City Sept. 7 for a show at Churchill School.

BAKER CITY — Churchill School welcomes stand-up comedian Jeremiah Coughlan on Sept. 7 and, two days later, music by The Horsenecks.

Doors open for Coughlan’s show at 6 p.m. Sept. 7. Tickets are $12 in advance at churchillbaker.com or $18 at the door. He rates his show as 21-plus.

The Horsenecks play Monday, Sept. 9. Again, doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.

For both shows, admission is free for ages 15 and younger who attend with a paid adult.

Comedy

Coughlan lives in Portland, and this isn’t his first appearance in Baker City — he’s performed several times at AJ’s Corner Brick Bar and Grill.

“We’ve had some rowdy audiences in Baker City,” he said with a laugh.

He grew up in the Tri-Cities, and discovered, at a wedding, that he had a knack for making people laugh.

“I gave a best man’s speech and got a couple laughs,” he said. “That’s kind of addictive.”

Then he started seeking open mic opportunities until a manager at his job encouraged him to pursue the path of stand-up comedy.

He’s toured his comedy for 12 years. As for material, he said anything could work its way into his routines.

“It’s become a lens I look at all things through,” he said. “Is there something absurd about this that people can relate to?”

He’s toured around the western states, as well as Alaska and the Midwest.

“Pretty much anywhere,” he said. “Driving across the country and telling jokes makes me happy.”

Music

The Horsenecks, the duo of Gabrielle Macrae and Barry Southern, are based in Astoria. They’ve played at Churchill a couple times — the first as a livestream during the pandemic.

“Once was to an empty auditorium,” she said.

Macrae honed her traditional fiddle style in Portland.

“The first time I heard a string band I thought, ‘Wow, they’re having fun.’ I was instantly hooked,” she said.

Southern, by contrast, grew up in Liverpool where he played old-time music and bluegrass.

The two met in 2012 when Macrae, who was touring England with her band, The Macrae Sisters, played at an electronic dance music festival.

“There was one folk stage,” she said. “It was really muddy, so we just stayed backstage and hung out all day.”

The next day, she again ran into Southern while playing in Liverpool, then again in Ireland.

“It was really weird — serendipitous,” she said.

She played the fiddle and he played the banjo and guitar.

“We started playing music together right away,” she said.

They’ve released three albums and are working on a fourth. She said the first two were “straight-up old-time.” The third had more variety, but “we’re still heavily influenced by the musical traditions we came from,” she said.

Those traditions include Appalachian fiddle and banjo music, country, classic bluegrass and original folk.