Chris Knowles plays a variety of instruments. His principal instrument through most of his career has been the Celtic harp, and his other main instruments for traditional folk music are fiddle, Irish bouzouki, whistle & low D whistle.
Based in Wales in the UK, Chris is an established solo Celtic harpist, has recorded 22 albums and has been a professional musician
for 38 years. On harp he specialises particularly in traditional Celtic music including much
Irish, Welsh, and Scottish material, plus some Breton, Manx and Cornish music. He also has a considerable repertoire of
early/medieval/renaissance music, and plays some original material and live improvised music.
As a sideline, he has also played various other genres of contemporary & popular music for many years; mainly on alto & soprano saxophones, and a self-customised 'mandocaster' electric mandolin.
Chris has performed all over the UK and beyond, and has played in widely varied venues including arts centres,
concert halls, theatres, arts festivals, folk festivals, castles, hotels, museums, folk clubs, cruise ships, restaurants, on a number of TV and
radio programmes, at open air concerts, green fairs, and 2 Glastonbury festivals.
In addition he has played at an enormous number of private events such as weddings, garden parties, banquets and corporate events.
Chris was the official harpist at Caernarfon Castle in North Wales for 9 years, performing there several times per week during the summer
months, and also played many live events at other castles throughout Wales, for CADW.
He has also done session recording & live session work for various studios and artists, and has appeared on a number of TV & radio programs.
As well as his solo performances, Chris has collaborated with a number of other musicians, including performances and recordings with renowned Welsh singer Heather Jones,
fiddler Mike Lease, uilleann piper Allan Moller, acoustic guitarist Anthony Griffiths, singer/songwriter Catrin O'Neill,
and in particular a long-running duo with multi-instrumentalist & singer/songwriter Ben Walker.
He has been a member of the folk bands Gwerinos, Hafren, Howling at Ravens, Roam, and is still a regular member of North Wales-based local ceilidh band
Mooncoin, in which he plays mainly fiddle, whistle and sax.
Through his career, his main harps have included a 30 string harp based on a Breton plan built by Welsh artist Bernard Barnes, an antique 30-string Morley clarsach from c. 1880's, a Pilgrim Harps Ashdown 34-string, and a 34-string Camac Ulysse.
As of October 2026, Chris has now largely retired from giving live harp performances.
He continues to perform on fiddle, bouzouki, whistle,
and alto sax, mostly in the duo with Ben Walker, and in Mooncoin ceilidh band, and is available for some session work.
CONTACT:
For more info or bookings, email chris
chrisknowlesmusic.co.uk