Gillian Welch (born October 2 1967 in New York City) is a singer-songwriter whose musical style combines elements of bluegrass, neotraditional country, Americana, old time string band music and folk into a rustic style that she dubs "American Primitive". All of her recordings feature the close-harmonies and unconventional guitar work of her musical partner, David Rawlings. Her music is often described as haunting or soothing. Gillian pronounces her first name with a hard G ( rather than ).