The Red Headed Strangers

Southern California's favorite Willie Nelson cover band, The Red Headed Strangers live show is a rip roaring, dance floorin, countrified hell of a time. 

Collectively this group of guys have known each other for decades. Zach Barnhorst and Mike Butler worked together at The Record Plant Studios in the late 90s where Mike was a seasoned vet and Zach was a fresh-faced runner. Mike opened Lost Arc studios in San Diego in 2010 where he often worked with Matt Lynott and Patrick McClory as hired studio players.  Meanwhile Zach and Richard “Doc” Newton were doing an Americana project (ZB Savoy and The Chivalry) around San Diego playing mostly private events and occasionally having Matt play drums. 

Independently Mike, Matt and Patrick had discussed doing some kind of a country project, even getting together to play a few times, but not taking it any further than that. When the idea of doing a Willie Nelson cover band came up, it didn’t take much for everyone to get on board.  

This is a band of guys who very much enjoy each other as people and as musicians. To lay that on the back drop of Willie Nelson songs is a recipe made for everyone in the room having a great time.

Zach Barnhorst(Vocals and Guitar)is a San Diego native who has been singing with bands since his teens.  He has a degree in Sound Arts and spent a decade in LA as a recording engineer and songwriter fronting the band Good Clean Dirt. In 2005 he returned to San Diego to start the ZB Savoy clothing line and front an Americana style country band under this same name.  

He is a business owner and continues to play private and public events as a band leader and solo acoustic guitar player and lives with his wife in la Jolla CA.

Matt “The Machine” Lynott (Drums) has been making music for 35 years.  He grew up in La Jolla playing music with local friends Gary Jules (Donnie Darko, Mad World) and Michael Andrews and was mentored by Jazz great Chuck McPherson.

Matt has toured with Rob Crow, Jason Falkner and many others. He has played the Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Call with Carson Daly Show and drums for The White Buffalo where he can be heard on numerous songs on soundtracks for This Is Us, Sons of Anarchy, Big Little Lies, Longmire and Californication. Matt lives with his wife and son in San Diego.    

Mike Butler (Guitar)is an accomplished guitar player, recording engineer, and mixer.  He was the original lead guitar players for Billy Bob Thornton’s band The Box Masters, touring with Willie Nelson in the early 2000s.

As a mix engineer, he honed his skills at the famed Record Plant studio in Los Angeles.   He has since mixed records for such artists as Ray La Montagne, Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins, Colbie Callat, Lean Rimes, Pheobe Bridgers and literally hundreds of others.

Mike lives in San Diego with his two sons and continues to record and mix bands in the Americana realm.

Patrick McClory (Bass)has been a staple of the San Diego music scene for more than 2 decades. He is a regular bass player for Sarah Petite, Nena Anderson, Sham Saints, and countless others. He is based out of North County San Diego where he lives with his wife and son (who is a Rockstar of a youth baseball player).

Richard “Doc” Newton (Pedal Steel) is a pediatric hospitalist, caring for children by day, and a pedal steel playing student of classic country and western swing music by night.  He plays with numerous country projects around San Diego and lives with his wife and 2 children in Point Loma.