Russ Barenberg was born on October 8, 1950, in the United States and is an American bluegrass musician. He began playing guitar at thirteen under Alan Miller. After studying at Cornell University, he formed Country Cooking with Pete Wernick, releasing 14 Bluegrass Instrumentals (1971) and Frank Wakefield (1972), before disbanding in 1975. He returned to music, moved to New York City, and recorded his debut solo album, Cowboy Calypso, in 1980. He taught in Boston, relocated to Nashville, where he collaborated with Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, Maura O'Connell, and worked as a session musician for Béla Fleck, Hazel Dickens, and Randy Travis. His solo releases include Behind the Melodies (1983), Moving Pictures (1988), and When at Last (2007), the latter featuring the Grammy‑nominated track "Little Monk". He has also served as a member of BBC’s Transatlantic Sessions house band.
