sons of rainier

At the dawn of 2017, Devin Champlin brought a couple of his original songs to Dean Johnson with the invitation to sing in harmony together. That proved to be joyful, and they tapped Sam Gelband to join in with his sturdy baritone to be the middleman. Quickly this bore fruit, so they invited Charlie Meyer along for the ride with his lovely bass playing skills. At that, The Sons of Rainier were born. 

Devin Champlin has been writing songs since he first picked up a hand-me-down guitar at the age of twelve. Through his teen years and early twenties he found his cultural home in DIY punk music and skateboarding. At some point in there he picked up his dad’s banjo more often than not and spent over a decade learning, playing and performing different styles of traditional American folk music, mostly Acoustic Blues and Southern Fiddle Tunes. He toured the country numerous times with acts like The Gallus Brothers, and The Crow Quill Night Owls, collaborating occasionally with elders of the scene and even being inducted into the Jug Band Hall Of Fame (yes that exists). His personal songwriting was always percolating inn the background, making sporadic appearances at house shows and the like. With The Sons Of Rainier, Champlin found a loving home for many of these songs where they could be nurtured by the hands and voices of his compadres. The arrangements rest on the foundation of Devin’s songwriting, and is brought forth with warm tube amps, Dean’s unpredictable, weeping guitar lines, a loosely tuned snare, upright bass, and close three-part harmonies. It is 45 rpm folk music that is sweet and haunting. It’s a polaroid of a stolen slow dance.

In 2018 the band released Down In Pancake Valley. Recorded live over two summer days in Bellingham, the album is filled with nostalgic lyrics brimming with longing, and understanding that float over a relaxed, lo-fi couch of sound. This album and their recent follow up Take Me Anywhere (2023) have earned the Sons a place in the permanent library of hobos, widows, fry-cooks, and fancy pants alike.

PO BOX 2024, MILTON, WA 98354

(253) 428-8056

INFO@WINTERGRASS.COM