Doug Pratt
Doug Pratt has been playing chromatic autoharp for nearly 70 years, having first learned the instrument from his grandmother. He has a unique style that has grown from his roots in North Carolina, where he grew up playing Carter Family, Flatt & Scruggs, and Ian & Sylvia tunes, to encompass a wide range of genre, many of which are outside the usual “autoharp box.” His music is upbeat, lighthearted, and often described as “happy”.
Having played mostly in ensembles, he has developed a bold style that can be heard in a bluegrass band. He often says “I don’t do sweet and pretty.” His CD You Can’t play THAT on the Autoharp!, is a sampler of everything from bluegrass to pop to ragtime. Doug also plays dobro and says “It gets me past the Bluegrass Police, then I show them what the autoharp can do.” Doug won the International Autoharp Championship in 2006 and again in 2018 and placed second in the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Contest last year. He has performed at the Northwest Autoharp Gathering (2016) and Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering (2018), Walnut Valley Festival (2019), and Lagniappe Dulcimer Fete (2020). In “real life” Doug is a semi-retired ornithologist and bird illustrator who has written and illustrated many books, primarily on birds of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific. Check out his website www.hdouglaspratt.com.