With a new “Celtic Charms” album & novel on the way, the celebrated harp duo plays Zeeland’s Waypoint Community Church on Wednesday for a Halloween show. The interview and more at Local Spins.
Halloween Harp Fanfare: Harp Twins reinvent a wide array of music on stage and in the studio. (Courtesy Photo)
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Kennerly and Camille Kitt, better known as Harp Twins, are having loads of fun stepping outside traditional harp boundaries.
“We’ve worked incredibly hard to go where no harps have gone before,” said Kennerly in a joint interview with her twin sister, Camille.
Apparently, these two do everything together.
One-Harp Magic: The twins in concert. (Courtesy Photo)
Classically trained with degrees from a traditional music conservatory — Illinois’ Wheaton College — the plucky artists have paired to cover a universe of musical genres. Through a dozen albums, the twins handle rock/metal songs from Aerosmith to The Rolling Stones, folk/traditional, movie soundtracks and seasonal favorites.
Their latest effort is an original collection, “Celtic Charms,” part of a fantasy book collaboration with author Debbie Viguie.
“Our characters (harp-playing sisters with special powers), travel to Ireland to play at a wedding in a mystical castle,” chimed Camille. “They find themselves caught up in a web of ancient feuds, family secrets, creatures of myth.”
And with song titles such as “Welcome to Your Wake” and “Death Jigs,” it’s ready-made for their Halloween tour, which comes to Zeeland at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 30) at Waypoint Community Church, 3041 96th Ave. in Zeeland. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available online here.
It’s a follow-up to their 2022 project, “Twin Destinies.”
Performing on both floor-mounted and hand-held harps, the twins’ on-stage attire is almost always identical. For this tour they’re encouraging their all-ages audiences to come in family-friendly costumes.
“We’ll be dressed rather gothic, ourselves,” Camille noted.
Millions of Followers: The Kitts. (Courtesy Photo)
They also do a few harp “tricks,” including songs in which they play the same harp simultaneously.
The sisters also often are joined by the Volfgang Twins, a brother tandem of tribal drummers.
Because of their popularity in fantasy circles, the Harp Twins also will perform Nov. 15-17 at the Grand Rapids Comic-Con at DeVos Place, with noted tunes from scores such as “Hunger Games” and “Harry Potter.” Details about Comic-Con online here.
“We’ve never worn out a harp,” Kennerly said of their often rigorous playing style, something that’s attracted 2.5 million followers on social media, more than 160 million views on YouTube and countless fans across the globe.
“We’ve just worn out a lot of harp strings that we replace when they break.”
VIDEO: Harp Twins, “Death Jigs”
VIDEO: Harp Twins, “Fade to Black” (Metallica)
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