Christian Davis

Although Christian Davis has had a keen interest in music since childhood, it was not until age nineteen that he found his true passion, the mandolin. It was right before Christian set out on the road that he found his first mandolin.

A friend lent him one so that Christian had something to pick on for his journey. So with his new instrument in hand Christian made his way from West Virginia all the way to Hawaii. From Hawaii he made his way to North Carolina where he joined the Living Folklore Medicine Show.

Christian not only played mandolin but juggled, ate fire, clowned, and performed on the unicycle. A truly magical experience, Living Folklore can be found every year entertaining the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the High Sierra Music Festival. Christian continued his travels and worked for some time with the Granola Funk Theater. This same troupe, led by Aaron Funk helped to spawn the very successful progressive hip-hop group of the same name.

Eventually Christian became a proud father and settled down in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. There he began teaching at the Suncoast Waldorf School. He was able to bring music and the arts into the classroom for children from First through Eighth Grade. In his spare time he could be found still playing his mandolin with various local artists. The Purple Velvet Parade was one such band in which Christian was able to create a unique reggae-mando style with great musicians like Ryan Shields and Kendra Morris. Christian was able to explore more Gypsy and Latin styles with Chris Walker in the Davis Walker Duo. Bluegrass is another genre Christian enjoys playing and often worked with the band, Mountain Memories. Christian is proud to have played the Magnolia Fest in Live Oak with the bands Buffalo Strange and Tammerlin. He has also had the opportunity to play another of his favorite Florida festivals, Riverhawk, with the Michael Southern Band. Christian can be heard on their cd as well as the latest Empty Hats and Bleu Gravy cds.

Christian Davis is however most grateful to have found the great musicianship and friendship that exists within the Urban Gypsies. He is instrumental in the writing process and styling?s of the band and his many influences, including Bill Monroe, Jerry Garcia, Django Reinhart and Jacob de Bandolin can be heard through his playing as he enriches the eclectic styles of the band.

In the Urban Gypsies you will find Christian playing a very special mandolin. It is one that has been hand crafted by his father. Together Christian and his father Dennis Davis are the Founders of the Neild Instrument Company creating handcrafted mandolins of the highest quality one of which Christian is very proud to be playing.