Devlin Miles

Miles and her band mates accomplish this with the 15 tracks on “Sweet Little Bloodhound.” This disc is everything that you’d expect from music called “soulful rock” and the music here will make you feel, it will make you think, and best of all, it will have you singing along. This is a refreshing debut that leaves listeners hoping that there will be much more to come. - The Recorder

Devlin Miles, a member of the Coop, will be performing in the series twice this month and if you have never seen her before, she is definitely worthy of your attention.

Miles and her band will play the Coop Concerts on Thursday, June 13, and on a special Sunday show that takes place June 30 at 6 p.m. Miles’ band consists of local musicians Rick Mauran on drums, Ben Falkoff on lead guitar and Don Rovero on bass.

Miles is an accomplished singer-songwriter originally from Brockton who launched her career in New York City.

She released her debut album, “Autumn’s Fires,” in 2010 and it has received heavy airplay on various digital sites. The song “This Guy” has won various honors, including an honorary mention in Billboard’s World Song Contest. “The Camera Fades,” a song regarding 9/11, has also won widespread praise.

Miles has toured extensively from Canada to Australia and has performed at a number of major music festivals in this country. Her music straddles the line between contemporary country and pop and she has drawn frequent comparisons to Sheryl Crow while her smooth singing voice has been likened to Sarah McLachlan. She describes her songs as being about “love, loss and derelicts,” but the songs on her album show a wider breadth as they range from the whimsical tunes like “Risk,” about an amusement park ride, to the serious “The Extra Miles,” a song that addressees an individual who has lost a loved one to suicide. “There’s mothers and daughters and husbands and wives/Neighbors and friends who suffer through life/ Depression is one thing that eats at our minds/It poisons our thoughts and our will to survive,” writes Miles who is a supporter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Six years ago, Miles moved to Greenfield and currently divides her time between here and New York

“I write my best stuff here,” she said about living in Greenfield. “I get overloaded in the city and am so grateful for my writer’s haven here. I have found a great community of musicians here in Greenfield.”

Miles credits much of this to fellow musician Stephanie Marshall of the Boxcar Lilies. “Stephanie introduced me to the Coop and to my drummer Rick Mauran,” Miles said. “We really clicked and I have been slowly building my relationships with individual musicians of The Coop. I also look forward to doing some collaborations with some of the artists.”

Miles added that she appreciated the wide range of artists in the Coop and feels she has been exposed to various kinds of music and interesting instruments that she wouldn’t see in the city.

“For example, Small Change with their washtub bass and Barry Wiggins with his hand-crafted Native American flutes,” said Miles. “I wouldn’t say there isn’t someone in New York playing either of those, because you can find lots of crazy things, like a woman who plays a saw in the subway, but I rarely have time to stop and listen.”


The singer is looking forward to getting out there and playing with her band this summer and using these shows to test out some new material, which will appear on a new CD.

“Our main goal is to drum up interest in the new songs and see which ones the fans are responding to and then to record those songs,” said Miles, who enjoys playing with a full band as that best captures how she hears the songs in her head.

In addition to the Coop shows, Miles will perform a solo show as part of Shelburne Falls RiverFest Celebration on Saturday, June 8, at the marketplace at 10 a.m. She is one of many local musicians who will perform through the day-long celebration. Also appearing will be folk musicians David Fersh and Annie Hassett, the Shelburne Falls-based chorus Hilltown Harmony, singer-songwriters Katie Sachs and Wishbone, The Tea Street Band, which plays rock, country and folk, and the Celtic music group Last Night’s Fun.

Miles will also play a full-band show at the Greenfield town fireworks at Beacon Field on Saturday, July 6.

Miles noted that all her shows are free and stressed that listeners only need leave humming a new tune.
- The Recorder

Brooklyn Fans at BoCoCa Festival - Brooklyn Fans

There’s a fine line between country music and pop music. Devlin Miles is standing proud, right in the middle, with a grin on her face, because at any moment, she could step over to either side. Her latest album, and first full length, Autumn’s Fires is a great example of all that is good in both genres and how much better both can be when they are combined.

The songs range from playful and infectious to serious and thought provoking. The album’s opening track, “Rush” starts off slow, making the listener think they are listening to something more laid back, but then the chorus takes off with some fast paced guitars and the tone shifts the song from sweetness and light to something dark and forceful, and all the while she’s singing about riding on a ride at Disneyland.

The most fun track and definitely the most country is “I Can’t Wait.” This song is extremely radio friendly with cross over potential. The song is catchy from the first bars full of twang. It is the perfect ode to summer; the kind of song to be played loudly anywhere summer is being celebrated or waiting to be celebrated, the car, the beach or the backyard. Crank up the volume and start singing along.

Devlin’s songs all have something about them that connects to something in the listener; whether it is their sense of fun or their social consciousness. The one song that should get anyone that listens thinking is “The Extra Mile” a song that was used to open the Out Of The Darkness Walk for The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention.

The song speaks out to people with family members that have suffered depression or have had a family member take their life. The song’s opening lines say this loud and clear, “Out of the darkness and into the light. Speaking out loud for our love ones tonight. We want you to know that your life’s not in vain. As we carry you with us, you light our flame.”

Another thought provoking track is “This Guy.” It is a fun, rocking tune about a guy whose greed is getting the better of him. She taunts him singing, “Guess freedom’s overrated. You’d rather steal than do what’s right.” As serious as the song is, the song will have listeners singing along.

Devlin’s lyrics are eloquent, upbeat and inspiring. The music behind her voice is played perfectly thanks to her backing band made up of Udi Levi (guitars), Trevor Coen (bass), Joe Goretti (percussion), and Margarita Martinez (vocals). Together they make music that is hard not to love .

Her sound has been compared to Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan. That’s quite a compliment for a relative newcomer, but it is deserving. She has the country rock flair that Ms Crow is noted, as is heard on several of the tracks on the album such as “Folding Chair“. She also has the ability to get that otherworldly sound like Ms. McLachan. This can best be heard on the title track “Autumn’s Fires”, one of the album’s more laid back tracks.

Autumn’s Fires is an album that proves that there are still women out there that can rock without taking their clothes off. It is an album where the music is front and center, and an album that can be listened to from start to finish without skipping a track.

Devlin Miles is a welcome, new voice to the scene. If Autumn’s Fires is any indication of what’s to come, Devlin Miles is going to be an artist whose new releases people will be anticipating for years to come.


Genre: Pop, Folk, Country
Sounds Like: Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan
Buy: CD Baby
Released: 2009
Rating: 9/10 - Mossip- An Everywhere Girl- Elfslut

Back in September we launched the “SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS™” Competition, offering artists across the US a chance to compete for $1000 cash, promotion through Clear Channel, OurStage.com and the Subway Fresh Artists™ platform and SUBWAY® restaurants gift cards. The competition was divided into ten regional channels across the United States with one winner chosen from each region by Clear Channel Radio Program Directors, ten winners in all, and the results are now in. The Top 50 artists from each of the regional channels earned themselves a spot in the “SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS™” National Finals Competition, and are currently competing for a chance to open for GRAMMY award-winning band the Goo Goo Dolls. Check out the regional winners and their music below, and be sure to head to the SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS™ National Finals Competition to help decide which lucky up-and-comer will open for the Goo Goo Dolls! (follow link) - Ourstage.com

The public voted for their fan favorites via the iheartradio network, Clear Channel Radio web sites and OurStage.com.

The top fifty ranked artists from each of the ten regions were automatically entered into the SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS National Competition in October for the opportunity to be awarded the Grand Prize. A panel of Clear Channel Radio programmers, Subway executives and the Goo Goo Dolls will select one lucky grand prize winner from the top 20 ranked artists at the end of the National Competition. The final winner will get the chance to be the opening act at a future Goo Goo Dolls concert, plus a $1,000 cash prize, a session with a professional song writer, and additional assistance to develop their careers.

WHO: The 10 regional winners are:

(follow the link) - ClearChannel.com

"I love Devlin Miles, I am a big fan and she's good people!" - on-the-air

...thoroughly enjoyed exploring your site and getting to hear your work, gang. You've got some really tight instrumentals going on, killer vocals racing along side it, and cool melodies. It also looks like you've worked up a lot of good momentum. Keep us posted on your work and your progress - we're definitely looking forward to hearing more as you crank it out.

- Ray Bertram for The Back Country Connection

- The Back Country Connection