Devon Gilfillian
Devon Gilfillian is an American soul singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee.[1]
Devon Gilfillian
Singer-songwriter
Vocals, guitar
2013–present
Early life[edit]
Gilfillian is originally from Morton, Pennsylvania.[2] He began playing guitar at age 14,[3] and while still in high school played in a band called Black Sheep.[4] He attended West Chester University,[5] where he graduated with a degree in psychology, and also played in cover bands including Hot Spoon Gilly.[6] Growing up, his father, Nelson Gilfillian,[5] was a singer and percussionist in a local band.[2]
Career[edit]
After moving to Nashville in 2013, Gilfillian joined a local blues cover band.[2] In 2016, he released his debut self-titled EP, of gospel-inspired blues-rock.[2][6]
His major label debut album Black Hole Rainbow was released on January 10, 2020, on Capitol Records.[7][8] It was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[9] The album features production from Shawn Everett, and co-writing from Jamie Lidell.[1][6] Three of the album's singles reached the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart: "Unchained" peaked at number 7, "Get Out and Get It" peaked at number 12, and "The Good Life" peaked at number 5.[10]
On October 22, 2020, Gilfillian released a track-by-track cover of Marvin Gaye's 1971 album What's Going On[11] with 100% of the profits donated to Tennessee's Equity Alliance Fund.[12]
On April 7, 2023, Devon released his second full-length studio album Love You Anyway via Fantasy Records. Produced by Jeremy Lutito (Joy Oladokun, NEEDTOBREATHE), the album includes the single “All I Really Wanna Do” which peaked at #6 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Songs chart.[13][14]
Performances[edit]
Gilfillian performed at Newport Folk Festival and Montreal Jazz Fest,[15] and at the 2018 NFL Draft in Dallas.[16] On March 7, 2020, he made his national television debut on CBS This Morning, performing the track "The Good Life".[3] He opened for Brothers Osborne on their 2019 tour,[17] and Grace Potter on her 2020 US tour.[15] He has also opened for Mavis Staples, Gladys Knight, and Michael McDonald.[6][18] He performed a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on October 23, 2020,[19] and performed "The Good Life" on Jimmy Kimmel Live in December 2020.[20]
In April 2023, he headlined his national Love You Anyway Tour.[21]