Devon Gilfillian has been putting his own spin on Americana music since moving to Nashville from Philadelphia back in 2013. He pushes the boundaries even further on his forthcoming album Time Will Tell, which he recorded at historic RCA Studio A on Music Row.
But, Gilfillian says, this is far from a Music Row-type album. During his visit to Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, the singer-guitarist talks about sidestepping the mainstream system as an indie artist.
“I wanted to get weird. I wanted to take the nostalgia from Nashville and mix that with Philly soul and the psychedelic rock that I love and capture that,” Gilfillian says.
The follow-up to his 2023 album Love You Anyway, Time Will Tell arrives June 26 via Concord, and cements Gilfillian’s lane in the Americana genre. “I would say there are country influences but more in the Americana soul,” he says of the vibe of his new LP. “There is country soul in there. It dips into a little of different genres. I’m just doing what I do and hoping that it finds its place.”
In 2023, Gilfillian talked to Rolling Stone about how difficult it can be for Black artists working in Nashville to receive recognition. During his appearance on Nashville Now, he says that’s changed ever so slightly.
“Since then, we have Beyoncé kicking down doors in the country world. And that’s amazing and I see that. But I also still feel like the door gets opened up but then shut a little bit,” he says. “There’s so much more space that needs to be given to Black artists here in Nashville. It’s hard in this age that we have, under this [Trump] administration. It feels like there’s a lot, especially in the country world, ‘Oh, we have this administration, it’s alright to ignore the DEI, ignore the fact that we’re not giving space to Black artists.’ That feels prevalent for sure.”
Gilfillian’s episode also includes a performance of his new song “Hold On (Hourglass).” Fans can watch it in full on YouTube.
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone’s weekly country-music podcast, Nashville Now, hosted by senior music editor Joseph Hudak, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature interviews with artists and personalities like Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Charley Crockett, Kings of Leon, Carly Pearce, Breland, Bryan Andrews, Gavin Adcock, Amanda Shires, Shooter Jennings, Margo Price, Ink, Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan, Halestorm, Dusty Slay, Lukas Nelson, Ashley Monroe, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, Clever, and journalists Marissa R. Moss, Josh Crutchmer, and Jonathan Bernstein.
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