Girlhood, Live in Concert: Devon Gabriella

On Monday night, girls with flower crowns flooded into Seattle’s Baba Yaga for the final show of Devon Gabriella’s mini-tour, The First Headlines. The buzzing festive energy online and in-person alike surrounding this set of three acoustic shows along the west coast showed me that Devon had hit the nail of girlhood right on the head. Recently having toured with Sombr, her audience grew a lot over the last year. I knew I had to make my rounds and talk to audience members about their relationships with Devon's music.

Grace Wyandt, decked out in a gorgeous black lace dress and joined by her similarly enthusiastic brother, was behind a fan project and stood at barricade. She handed people little paper hearts saying, “Found what we wanted”, an ode to a lyric in the song "The Garden".

Devon performing while Grace's brother held up one of the paper hearts.

Grace began listening to Devon’s music in early 2024, and an imprint was clearly made, “I literally flew from Pennsylvania to [see Devon], so I stayed up all night doing this… just to make sure [there was] something special for her.” Grace was ecstatic about the project. She also marveled over Devon’s 2025 release “Songbird”, “Oh my God. That song like, changed me…. It’s so emotional, literally one of my favorite things ever.” She noted a favorite lyric, “I’ll be fine,” saying, “It’s small, but it means so much.”

Jasmyn Mallek and Parker Graham-Washburn recalled a fond memory with Devon’s music. Jasmyn told me, “I remember at Sombr’s concert, I brought a sign that said, ‘Please play Moonboy’… she did see my sign, and she took a picture with me from the stage.” Parker added, “I really just enjoyed filming the moment for Jasmyn.”

Olivia Puoci (left) and Riley Jones (right) pose for a digital camera photo

Olivia Puoci and Riley Jones, two high school upperclassmen, became fans in recent months. When I asked Olivia her favorite lyric, she immediately began vigorously scrolling through Devon’s songs. She noted loving the lyrics from “Songbird”, “Nothing’s fair in love and war” and “I still love you, that’s so confusing, I can’t give you any more”. Riley was excited to hear “Moonboy”, “Songbird” and “Old Time’s Sake”.

Local college freshmen Clara Dahl and Selina Shah, two bubbly girls decked out in maxi skirts and flower crowns, had been fans for about a year. Clara explained, “I really like her music because I feel like it comes from a really vulnerable place.” Selina added, “I have a strong emotional connection with, like, a lot of her songs…. Also, her audience is very small, so, like, connecting with other people is… really nice.” They were both ecstatic to hear “Moonboy”.

From left: Selina, Clara and I before the show. We'd met thirty minutes before this photo was taken and spent the entire show together. Peak girlhood.

Devon’s performance was heartwarming. She marveled several times at the screaming crowd, “You sound so beautiful, thank you for singing.” During one song, a dancing circle formed at the back of the venue. During another, the crowd waved their arms in the air. When the hearts Grace had made were held up, Devon gasped in grateful dismay, saying she was an ugly crier and couldn't handle such a kind gesture. It was stunning to watch. Superfans and casual fans alike were guaranteed to have a splendid time, between Devon’s eloquent lyricism, gratitude to the audience, and the covers of “I Love You, I’m Sorry” by Gracie Abrams and “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan that she mixed in.

Stream Devon’s latest single, “Old Time’s Sake”, here.