There is a specific kind of magic that happens when hard work, talent, and genuine human connection collide and Devon Gabriella has been quietly building toward that moment for years. Just off a 28-date run opening for Sombr and fresh off her first headlining show, the Bay Area indie pop artist isn’t just making music. She’s tending to something much bigger: a world, a community, and a growing fan garden she waters with intention every single day.
By Isabella Allon | Artist to Artist
I sat down with Devon Gabriella this past week, and within minutes, I understood why people are drawn to her. Her energy is warm, curious, and disarmingly open the kind of person who makes you feel like you’ve known her longer than you have. That same quality lives in her music, and it’s exactly what has turned casual listeners into a devoted community she calls The Garden. is a specific kind of magic when hard work and talent fully synergies into something bigger than yourself and the art created. It is special and almost unidentifiable. For Devon Gabriella, that transition wasn’t overnight; it was a culmination of understanding her own definite purpose, seven-hour drives, and a supportive team that believed in her.
The Beginning
Devon’s story didn’t start with a record deal or a viral moment. It started with a 13-year-old girl teaching herself guitar, a dad who introduced her to the Beatles and Carole King on the piano, and a mom who drove seven hours from the Bay Area to Los Angeles — more than once — so her daughter could audition for Disney Channel and The Voice.
Artist to Artist: I think your story is super interesting, specifically your last couple of months’ trajectory in opening for Sombr and now seeing a lot of vitality and an increase in your fan engagement.
Devon: “I have been really fortunate to have such a strong and special community surrounding me and my music. It felt like a dream this whole time. I feel that the past couple of years are a combination of everything I have been working towards, and I think the tour just furthered that. It has allowed new people to discover my world and my music and allowed me to meet so many people. Nothing exists without the fans.”
The Roots and Influences
Long before the tour buses, there were the auditions. Devon Gabriella picked up a guitar at 13 and taught herself to create and write music, yet the roots of it all came from her supportive and musical family unit.
Artist to Artist: I understand you first picked up your guitar at age 13 and self-taught yourself. Through that process, what made you realize that music was the profession you wanted to pursue?
Devon: I truly cannot remember a time that I didn’t feel like I was meant to be doing this. It’s just because it’s instilled in me… I’d drag my mom to Disney Channel auditions. My mom’s biggest dream is seeing mine come true. Driving me 7 hours from the Bay to LA for an audition for Disney Channel or The Voice… she would do it. And that has not wavered.”
Artist to Artist: Your dad taught you piano from a very early age. Would you say your family influenced your sonic choices?
Devon: “My dad did a great job in introducing my sister and me to the classics—the Beatles, Carole King. I also very much value their opinion. I’ll send my mom songs, and she isn’t afraid to say how she really feels. At the end of the day, I am in control of my world and my sound, but I do really value her opinion.”
Her familial support was influential in pursuing her career, yet as artists, there is always an innate inner knowing when you are meant to do something, and it is evident that Devon has carried this notion.
Devon: “With any creative person, they feel it in their bones; they’re meant to make art, and that art is meant to be seen and heard, and they’re just working hard to make it happen. It’s something I have always known, and I cannot imagine my life without it; it is so integral to my being, and I’m lucky to have such a supportive community of people around me.”
The Craft: Curating “The Garden”
Her 2025 EP, The Garden, was more than just a collection of songs; centered on themes of comfort and belonging, her EP marked a pivotal inflection point in her career. The Garden became a narrative and sonic world and community of tending to, inspiring Devon Gabriella to host “The Garden” Zoom meetings with her fans to connect, inspire, and belong to.
Artist to Artist: Your EP, The Garden, grew into a community with the Zoom meetings you were holding. How has that impacted your artist-to-fan connection?
Devon: “It feels bigger than the music itself, almost. If I have an impact on one person, or help someone find a friend, even across the world, my job is done. It is exactly why I do what I do. I just hope to continue to be a beacon of comfort and create a safe space for people who listen to me.”
The Live Shift: From Opener to Headliner
The Garden grew into a community, a world, and the truest test of this artist-fan connection happened on the road. After opening dozens of shows, Devon got to see her Garden fill rooms specifically for her.
Artist to Artist: Your connections with your fans are so meaningful to you; I bet this translates into live. What is your favorite part of performing live?
Devon: “I still get blown away seeing people sing my lyrics back… Like, what do you mean? I wrote this song in my bedroom; now you’re looking at me and screaming it back. There’s just no better feeling. I had my first headliner show on the tail of the Sombr tour… and I got a taste of what it was to headline. Regardless of what size room it is, it is always going to feel intimate and special, and everyone is there for a purpose.”
The most powerful thing an artist can create is connection beyond the music, a safe haven and place where fans can connect and inspire one another, and Devon Gabriella is just in the beginning stages of tending and growing her Garden.
The Artist-to-Artist Piece of Advice
With every interview, I end it with the artist-to-artist piece of advice to young creatives: to inspire and learn from.
Artist to Artist: What piece of advice would you give that little girl who was 13 years old looking to pursue that music journey ahead?
Devon: “I spent so much time so afraid of what other people thought. I held myself back a lot from posting… I think if I hadn’t held back in the years when I was 13-18, I would’ve had a different experience. Just put yourself out there, be unapologetically yourself, believe with every ounce of your being even if it takes being a little bit delusional that this is going to happen, and just go for it.”
Devon: “I wish I could give 13-year-old Devon the biggest hug, because she was struggling. But those moments when you’re doing your headline show, or hearing your lyrics being screamed back to you… those are the pieces I would hope that she is seeing and just freaking out about.”
That sense of purpose shared between artist and fan is what makes Devon Gabriella’s trajectory feel different from a typical rising artist story. The momentum is real, the vitality is growing, and the community is only getting stronger. But what strikes you most, talking to her, is that none of it feels accidental. She has been tending this garden for a long time. The rest of the world is just now finding the gate.
About the Reporter
Isabella Allon is an artist – field reporter covering music, culture, and emerging artists.
She is the creator of Artist – to – Artist, a platform dedicated to conversations between artists and musicians about songwriting, inspiration, and the journey of building a career in music, film and everything about the artistic world.
https://linktr.ee/IsabellaAllon
About Devon Gabriella
Devon Gabriella is a modern pop artist whose songs are rooted in vulnerability, nostalgia and emotion clarity. Her music draws inspiration from the wit of Kacey Musgraves, the melodic sensibility of Fleetwood Mac, the confessional lyricism of Taylor Swift, and the emotional immediacy of Gracie Abrams.
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