I was able to play my first harp guitar at a regular guitar festival though there were only two luthiers who had them. I have not yet been able to make the trip to the Harp Guitar gathering but have heard wonderful things about it.
As far as playing alternate bass Travis style on it, you certainly can but what I found about playing a harp guitar is while it is lovely to have those deep bass notes, you have to learn the technique of muting them so they don't continue to ring and muddy things up when you don't want them to.
You might also network with some folks involved with the harp gathering and see if anyone in your area owns and plays a harp guitar and if they would be willing to meet with them and let you give it a test drive. I have found that some players are comfortable with that though others may be more protective of their prized possession, but it never hurts to ask.
Good luck on finding one to play. They are interesting instruments and I am happy that I had a chance to check a few out. The ones that I played were a couple made by Kathy Wingert and one by Mike Doolin (Mike is retired as a luthier).
Best,
Jayne
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