Louis York presented by Brian Owens Soul and Townsendx3.live

Louis York is the musical project of Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony, a songwriting and production duo. They are known for their diverse musical style and founding of Weirdo Workshop company that houses their band and other creative endeavors. The duo, originally from New York and St. Louis respectively, initially considered leaving the music business but instead formed Louis York, merging their hometowns into the name. They also established Weirdo Workshop to embrace their unique and experimental approach to music, which they describe as "weird."

Kelly and Harmony first met while working on Chrisette Michele's 2009 album Epiphany. They went on to collaborate as a duo writing and producing tracks for artists including Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J and Miley Cyrus. Wanting to create music that would better reflect their own point of view and move them beyond being songwriters for hire, they formed Louis York. They write and produce all the tracks, with Kelly providing vocals and Harmony playing keyboards, guitars, drums and the vocoder. Drawing from several musical influences, such as their backgrounds in church choirs, growing up with R&B and being exposed to Jazz and the Motown sound as children, Louis York describes their music as "world music" in the sense that it is multi-genre and has an international sound.

In 2019, the duo released their debut album titled American Griots - The Album. The title of the album alludes to the griots of West Africa who are storytellers, poets and songwriters who travel from village to village performing and passing on oral traditions. With the addition of "American", the duo hoped to modernize and personalize the role of the griot. Through the album's title, Louis York attempt to communicate how they see themselves and give artists a renewed sense of responsibility as touring performers.

American Songwriter Magazine announced Louis York as the Jazz Category Winner of the 2024 American Songwriter Song Contest.