Devon Gilfillian

Devon Gilfillian is a singer and songwriter based in Nashville who works primarily in the soul genre but also has quite a bit of blues numbers in his repertoire. He plays soul in a retro, Motown type feel, usually at the mid-tempo range with rich emotional texture and resonance. His earlier work, by contrast, had more of a hybrid punch in the mold of bands like Black Pumas. He sings in a smooth, silky tone that works great with soul, but he also has a somewhat gruff register that comes through when he shifts to blues. It was a sign of self-confidence perhaps when in 2020 he put together a cover version of Gaye's classic What's Going On end to end, track by track. Quite a few of his songs focus on social issues, in the same spirit as his predecessors in the genre.