When rising Los Angeles singer-songwriter Devon Gabriella first picked up an acoustic guitar at 13, she locked herself in her bedroom and wouldn’t come out until she’d learned the basics of how to play. “I remember my fingers were bleeding as I searched up chords on Google, trying to match them to the diagrams,” Devon says, recalling her unwavering internal push to master this new instrument without formal lessons. “The first song I ever learned was ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton. I’ll never forget how excited I was to play and sing at the same time.” 

This is the level of dedication the rising 24-year-old singer-songwriter has always brought to her music, which is a heartfelt blend of Fleetwood Mac-style soft-rock, Kacey Musgraves-inspired modern country, and Taylor Swift-esque confessional lyricism. Today, Devon’s diligence and earnest love of her craft has not only caught the attention of thousands of fans, who have connected with each other and formed an online community, but in 2025 it caught the attention of sombr, who requested that Gabriella open for his Late Nights & Young Romance Tour, which traveled across North America last fall.

“When Shane [sombr] reached out for me to open it for him on tour, it was like the most unexpected thing in the world,” Devon says. “I felt like it was the culmination of my hard work, to know that it was by merit, and that Shane thought it'd be a cool fit and liked the music – that was very rewarding for me, as a fan of him and his music.” 

Now based in LA after growing up in the Bay area and studying communications and marketing at college in San Luis Obispo, Devon continues to put everything she has into her burgeoning music career. Though Devon has been playing professionally since she was 19, music has been a constant in her life from the very beginning. As a child in San Jose, Devon’s father and mother surrounded Devon and her twin sister with music, with her father playing guitar and piano to them, singing little jingles to make the girls smile, or playing ‘90s rap to entertain them in their high chairs.

In third grade, Devon began performing in school musicals and talent shows and even formed a girl band with her sister. Devon was a die-hard fan of 2010s pop staples like Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana, and, being a child of the internet, she wasn’t shy about posting videos of herself singing cover songs to Instagram. 

As she came of age, Devon threw herself into making connections, often cold DM’ing fellow musicians to see if they wanted to collaborate, and messaging producers she tracked down by finding their credits on songs she liked. “I realized the importance of social media, exposure, and connecting with people,” Devon says. “I really had to put my foot in the door and release any ego I had with being rejected if it meant getting closer to the yes.” One of those cold DMs led to Devon connecting with Jordan Lilvee (Avery Lynch, Grace Power), the recording engineer who has worked on nearly all of her songs from the beginning. 

Juggling college, songwriting, and recording, Devon shuttled back and forth from San Luis Obispo to LA and started releasing singles in 2020. In 2023, she experienced her first viral success with the vulnerable acoustic gem "older," which captures Devon's feelings at her parents' divorce. That same year, Devon began organizing monthly Zoom calls with fans, which she now refers to as “the garden,” after her 2025 EP of the same name. “Gardens are a very peaceful, comforting place, and I think that really took shape in the community itself,” Devon says of her Zoom gatherings, where fans wear flower crowns and form new friendships with each other. “It became a haven for the people who listened to my music to connect with each other, connect with themselves, which has been a huge factor in my artistry. I do feel this sisterly connection to the people who listen to me. I feel a lot of responsibility and care. It's been one of the most rewarding parts of this job — having this community form and seeing people meet each other.”  

Properly kicking off 2026, Devon is sharing her first new music of the year with the single “Old Time’s Sake,” a bittersweet, cheeky kiss-off anthem that she wrote just before leaving to tour with sombr. Layering textural acoustic strings over a punchy drumbeat, echoing vocal harmonies, and a magnetic, sing-along chorus, “Old Time’s Sake” finds Devon imagining a scenario where she invites an ex to her show in Atlanta. 

“‘Old Time’s Sake’ ended up being one of my favorite songs, because I let myself have that freedom of saying what I wanted to say, and being a bit humorous with it,” Devon says. “My ex knew how badly I wanted to pursue music, and then here I am playing a huge venue with a huge artist in his city. I was seriously debating inviting him, like drafting up the text. But it always ended badly with this person, so I leaned into the idea of entering a situation where I knew how it was going to end, but this time it's kind of sweet. It’s like he's paying homage to what happened when we were younger.”

Though Devon has always been a diaristic songwriter, “Old Time’s Sake” adds a new layer of complexity to her lyricism. But the more honest and open she is, the deeper the connection becomes with her fans, who have started attending shows in “garden”-style flower crowns. “The hardest things to say or lyrics to write are usually the most important ones,” Devon admits.
“Those are the lyrics that I get messaged about the most, with fans telling me how they felt the same way. I just want to put my listeners in my pocket and tell them that everything's gonna be okay.”

As Devon prepares another wave of new music, there’s no doubt that she’ll continue to lovingly tend to that garden.