“Who are your influences?” is such a hackneyed question in music journalism and radio interviews that it’s become something of a joke. And yet the topic is unavoidable, so we pros figure out sneaky ways to put the topic on the table without uttering those four words in order. Sitting down with Nashville singer and songwriter Devon Gilfillian, the subject bubbled up unrequested, got pretty deep, and was incredibly interesting. Because Devon Gilfillian’s well known for sounding like a hybrid of a fusion of a mixtape, in the most awesome way.
“The musical influence I had was from my Dad,” says Devon in Episode 363 of The String. This was in a Black suburb of Philadelphia. “He’s a wedding singer. He’s still doing it! Stevie Wonder was his, you know, North Star. So he passed that down to me.”
So far, simple enough. We talk about Otis Redding, Luther Vandross and Michael Jackson. I ask about the Philadelphia soul sound, born right down the commuter line from his home town of Morton. And he says that didn’t really sink in until he was in his 20s and living in Nashville and doing the self-study survey course so many of us get into. But the question did spark one of the more unique ‘influences’ stories I’ve heard.
“I went to a concert, and randomly this guy who was a friend of a friend said, ‘listen to these people: Fela Kuti, Budos Band, Menahan Street Band and Antibalas.’ He wrote (them) down on a little list.”
That’s a pretty specific memory! So I’m thinking there must be a reason that this anecdote stuck with Devon Gilfiallian. Fela Kuti was the world-renowned king of Afro-beat so that’s no surprise. It turns out the other three are modern day heirs to Fela’s flowing, polyrhythmic trance music. They’ve all done time on Daptone Records, the Brooklyn label famous for breaking Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Here Devon found a vein that was both obscure-ish to the wider public but full of ideas and freedom and innovation at the delta of several rivers of Black musical history.
I share all this because it helped me understand the swirly gumbo that’s made Gilfillian one of Music City’s most intriguing, original and successful Black recording artists of the past decade. Not many folks land multiple top five singles on the AAA chart with a national label, but he did. When that adventure ended (cause of death, the pandemic plus a wholesale management change at Capitol Records), his brilliant voice and crafty neo-soul found a home on Fantasy Records, home of Allison Russell, Grace Potter, and Nathaniel Rateliff (a friend and booster of Devon’s music).
The newest iteration of Devon’s sound is Time Will Tell, his third album of original songs overall and his second for Fantasy. It offers some new angles on his vibe and voice, opening for example with the first piano ballad that I could find in his catalog. Called “Time,” it prayerfully evokes a relationship that’s falling apart and the singer’s desire to use time constructively and patiently to move toward a rapprochement. That segues into the seductively funky track two called “Moonflower” and on to the danceable party anthem “IRL” (a duo with Cory Wong), some powerful rock and roll on “Black Dog Rabbit Hole,” direct Fela influence on “Keep On Movin’” and some sweet silky soul (and zen intentionality) on “Glad To Be Here.”
The record’s swooning, string-laden soundscapes were produced by Devon himself alongside his longtime drummer and friend Jonathan Smalt, a guy he met as a fellow server at City Winery during their arrival years. Since they started experimenting together and playing local joints, Gilfillian has made a particular mark on Music City - stretching its boundaries through the power of his voice and his eclectic creative vision. He released a self-titled blues-rock EP in 2016. That helped launch major label interest and in January 2020, symbolically striding into a new decade, he put his debut album Black Hole Rainbow out on Capitol.
While that got impressive airplay and made Devon a national name, the pandemic crushed his dreams of touring immediately behind the record. He processed his situation - and the nation’s upheaval of that year - by producing a song-for-song, multi-guest tribute to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, further cementing Devon as a creative force and a killer singer.
Alas, a management change at Capitol led to the end of his contract the following year (no bitterness, all gratitude he says), and he snapped back with Love You Anyway in 2023 on Fantasy. That also scored a top ten AAA track with “All I Really Wanna Do.” In the meantime, Devon has performed at the Newport Folk Festival and toured with Grace Potter, Mavis Staples, and Brothers Osborne, to give you an idea of how boundaryless he is.
We talk about Devon’s creative path to moving to Nashville, his passion for pedal steel guitar, his father’s health scare that put the urgency and gravitas in his new record, and much more. Watch Devon's song "Moonflower" here.
