Devin builds guitars and mandolinettos. Katy grows open-pollinated organic seeds. And we both play, individually and together, in other bands like:
The Country Hamms
The Shadies
Barb's Corn Dodgers
The Gallus Brothers
Frank's Diggle Pickers
The Crow Quill Night Owls
The Hi-O Revelers are Devin Champlin and Katy Harris from Bellingham, WA. They play old time music with a good mix of fiddle breakdowns, mandolin rags, guitar blues and singing duets. Both musicians draw heavy inspiration from early recordings, as well as learning from the great living musicians they are fortunate enough to mingle with. Not a slicked up, modern take on an old thing, nor an archival reproduction, this is two people playing music they absolutely love with a passion. They are equally at home playing a square dance, for a honky tonk, on a festival stage, or sitting on a cooler in a field.
Katy Harris began her musical journey while farming in North Carolina, learning to play back up Cajun guitar for her accordion playing landlord. She has since moved back to the west coast and become a fixture in the northwest old time scene. Her guitar style is reminiscent of players like Jim Baxter and Riley Puckett, heavy on the walks and syncopation, not afraid of blue notes, and strongly rhythmic. When not shredding old time guitar, Katy grows open pollinated organic seeds, watches birds, thinks about fixing watches and plays upright bass, and drums.
Devin Champlin has been playing music all his life. In the last decade he has toured the US and Canada playing country blues guitar with The Gallus Brothers, tenor banjo and mandolin with Maria Muldaur's Garden of Joy Jugband, and mandolin, fiddle, and tub bass with The Crow Quill Night Owls. His fiddle and mandolin playing reflect his blues roots, and he is strongly influenced by the styles of Howard Armstrong, Prince Albert Hunt, and The Skillet Lickers. Devin has taught fiddle, mandolin and guitar workshops at various festivals along the west coast. When not playing, Devin builds and repairs guitars.
