Devon Sproule

She spent her childhood on the 465 acre, 100-member Twin Oaks Community founded in 1967 as an intentional community and ecovillage in Louisa County, Virginia.

Asked about how the experience has affected her musical career, she said:

". . growing up with 80+ adults (many of whom I was very close to and spent lots of one-on-one time with) creates a need for versatile communication. . . in whatever manner will get the job done . . growing up in an income-free environment, the lack of money never bothers me much .."

After moving between private, public and home schooling, she eventually left high school, recorded her first record, and began touring nationally – all before the age of eighteen.

By 25, Sproule had already released four albums, drawing from influences as diverse as Frank Zappa, Bikini Kill, and a range of Canadian folk music.

Devon Sproule (born 23 April 1982) is a folk and indie rock singer-songwriter and musician based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A year after releasing her debut album Devon in 1999, she attracted the attention of fellow Charlottesville resident Dave Matthews who offered her a spot on a tour with the Dave Matthews Band.

Bassist Stefan Lessard produced her next album Long Sleeve Story in 2001.

Her second album, Long Sleeve Story, was released in 2001 with praise from The Village Voice.

The release of Upstate Songs in 2003 coincided with a move to upstate New York.

The edgier sound, with a more folk-driven feel, represented a departure – and helped her gain national prominence.

Upstate Songs was critically acclaimed with Rolling Stone Magazine naming it to their Critics Top Albums of 2003.

Julie Gerstein called the record, "perhaps the sweetest and most honest folk-pop album recorded this year," and added, "Sproule's vocal and lyrical beauty is unmatched."

At a show in Charlottesville, fellow musician Paul Curreri jumped on stage with her and joined in singing.

Upstate Songs, released in 2003, made it in Rolling Stone's Critics Top Albums of the year, followed by Keep Your Silver Shined in March 2007.

They married in 2005 and often performed together locally.

They also tour together across the United States and United Kingdom.

They were regular favorites at the now-defunct Gravity Lounge, a major platform for new talent in their hometown.

Curreri often "sings, plays, mixes, and produces" his wife's recordings.

She and Paul Curreri performed two tracks from the album, Old Virginia Block and Stop By Anytime, on the BBC's renowned Later With Jools Holland show in 2007.

She shared the ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award for 2009 with Oren Lavie.

She is married to fellow musician, and music producer, Paul Curreri.

¡Don't Hurry for Heaven! was released in April 2009.

Live in London, recorded with a collection of musicians including English pedal steel player BJ Cole, was released in 2010.

In September 2011 Sproule and Curreri moved to Berlin, Germany, citing professional and economic reasons.

"It felt like a good career move, to not just grow careers, but to make money, which is hard when you're going back and forth," says Sproule.

"It's really fun to play over there where you can play the folk shows, but you can also play a little theater of 20-year-olds who are sitting on the floor and they're blogging about it the next day."

After living in Austin for a time, they've returned to Charlottesville.

As Sproule says, "Everything that led away from Virginia felt necessary, and so did the coming home."

She released her first album when she was 16.

I Love You Go Easy was released on Tin Angel Records in 2011 to further critical acclaim, accompanied by the single Now's the Time.

It features a cover of Terre Roche's Runs in the Family.

In the spring of 2013, Devon went into the studio in Toronto to record an album of songs co-written with Canadian singer-songwriter Mike O'Neill.

A video for the song You Can't Help It was released in the summer and the resulting record, Colours, was released in September 2013.

Musicians featuring on the record include Thom Gill and Robin Dann.

After birth of their daughter in 2016, Sproule returned to touring with the release of The Gold String in early 2017.

Born to hippie parents on a commune named Dandelion in Kingston, Ontario, Sproule claims citizenship of both Canada and the United States.

Her parents were both musicians.

Sproule announced her return to touring, after birth of her daughter in 2016, with The Gold String, released 24 March 2017.

The LP contains "North American music with weirdo roots" and was recorded in three Canadian provinces — Yukon, Ontario, and Nova Scotia — and the Shetland Islands.