You never know what you’ll hear over the speakers when Andrew Sneddon and Matthew Hornell start travelling together.

On some days it’s Fred Eaglesmith and Corb Lund. On others it’s classical music and bebop jazz.

The mix of artists and genres extends to their show, where you’re just as likely to hear an east coast Celtic folk tune as a prairie bluegrass ballad. The song selection echoes the duo’s common theme: just play good music.

“I think it’s the flavour,” Hornell says when asked why the duo has been so successful. “We’re mixing in all of the things that we like: country, folk songs, songs we wrote, instrumentals … our mandate is just to play good music that we enjoy.”

While enjoyable, playing what you like requires a lot of flexibility. In their six years together, Sneddon and Hornell have mastered the art of improvisation. It’s helped keep their show fresh, and each musician on his toes.

“It’s a great musical relationship,” Sneddon explains. “Working in a duo situation like that offers you a lot of leeway in live settings to experiment and try different things.”

Then he chuckles.

“If something happens, you don’t have a whole band that’s going to come to a crashing halt.”

For the rest of this story, please see the Oct. 27 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.