Devon Worley Band

By RICH LARSON

Rich Larson

Posted on Nov 4, 2013

by Rich Larson

Most fifteen year old girls spend their summers either working at a Dairy Queen, or, y’know, hanging out at a beach or something. Devon Worley has spent the last few summers in a van with her band, playing county fairs, music festivals and bars from North Dakota to Tennessee. Any Southern Minnesota country music fan probably came across the Devon Worley Band at least twice this past summer.

Silver Creek is the result of that endless touring and playing. The sophomore effort from this fifteen year old wonder and her crack band of twin cities music veterans establishes them as one of the most important bands in Minnesota’s country music scene, and puts them squarely in the “Next Big Thing” conversation.

The ambition of this band is clear and plausible. But that doesn’t mean they’ve forsaken their Minnesota roots. Silver Creek opens with the rockin’ Lost Lake Road, a direct reaction to every country star from Arkansas, Texas or North Carolina. Worley wants everyone to know, that the country music and dirt road anthems coming from Austin, MN are every bit as authentic as anything coming out of Austin, TX. With a refrain like Hangin’ with the good ol’ boys/Gonna make some Northern Noise/I’ll see you down on Lost Lake Road, Worley is staking Minnesota’s claim as more than just the land of Prince and garage rock.

That’s only the beginning of this young lady’s bravado. On Good Enough for Me she challenges her critics who wonder if pursuing a professional career in music is the right lifestyle for a high school sophomore. She answers with a sneer, If it’s good enough for Dolly/Good for Loretta and Patsy/It’s good enough for me. On Country Nation, she calls out all the music snobs who’ll tell you they don’t like country music, but know every word to the Kenney Chesney, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood songs the band plays.

It’s hard to know where to start marveling at Silver Creek. Should it be the fact that these top flight musicians would even give a fifteen year old girl the time of day, much less fall in line behind her? Should it be Worley’s ability as a songwriter? She either wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, many of which one could reasonably expect to hear on K102 before too long. Or is it that voice? Worley’s vocals are both powerful and expressive; a deep, rich alto that can be subtle one minute and wall shaking the next.

That band, by the way, is something special. Guitarist Brandon Przezdziecki shines on Gasoline, a country rock gem that sparkles as a result of his slide work. Bassist Adam Durand and Lance Saxerud provide a churning, foundation laying engine that powers rockers like Get Up and the Hotel California themed title track. Keyboardist Reggie Hammond and guitarist/vocalist flesh out a sound that is complicated enough to be interesting, but never so much that it isn’t accessible.

We’re calling it. Based on the muscle, the quality, and the mature polish displayed on Silver Creek, it’s clear that before too long the Devon Worley band will be well off the Grain Belt & Heggies pizza circuit, headed for much greener pastures. Five years from now, the only way you’ll see this band in Detroit Lakes will be on the mainstage at WE Fest. She may think we’re living in a country nation, but it won’t be long before we’re living in Devon Worley’s world. - Southern Minnesota Scene

WHO IS DEVON WORLEY? FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Christina Vinson – September 28, 2017

The road into country music stardom isn’t cut and dry; there are lots of different avenues to take. Some artists win singing competitions, others play at every open mic night they can, many sign with a record label, and others focus on touring (and touring and touring). Rising artist Devon Worley is doing things her own way.

Worley won a music competition called the Colgate Country Showdown when she was just 11 years old. She wanted to play an original song, so she asked a band called Jug (comprised of all men) for help: The group’s frontman helped her craft the tune, and the whole band backed Worley during the performance.

Apparently they liked playing with her because, after a show at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill in Saint Louis, Mo., the men of Jug became Worley’s bandmates in the Devon Worley Band. The Minnesota native wasn’t even through middle school yet, but she began playing wherever she could: bars, county fairs, festivals.

A whole lot of hard work, passion, miles and talent are behind the Devin Worley Band. Now 19 years old, Worley has opened for some of country music’s biggest stars, and she’s played at big-name festivals such as Country Jam and WE Fest.

To learn more about Worley, click through the photo gallery above.

HER PROM WAS A LITTLE UNCONVENTIONAL
Even though Worley has a hectic touring schedule, she managed to go to her high school’s prom … sort of. She tells Plymouth Magazine that after being at the dance for 12 minutes, her tour bus picked her up for that night’s scheduled show. She then ended her prom night singing onstage in her dress.

“I’ve been in this professional industry for so long, it’s almost like a culture shock when I go back to school,” Worley says. “It’s bizarre for me to go to a place where I am just a teenager.”

HER SOUND CAN’T BE PUT IN A BOX, AND SHE HAS A HILARIOUS WAY OF DESCRIBING IT
Country music has many sub-genres: country rock, outlaw country, bro-country, pop-country, honky-tonk, folk … we could go on. Worley, however, chooses to describe her band’s sound in a more detailed way: “If Led Zeppelin and Willie Nelson had a baby, and that baby’s best friend was Eric Church,” she explains with a laugh. “Some say it’s like we’re creating a whole new genre.”

In fact, Grammy Awards-nominated producer Matt McClure says that working with Worley was unlike anything he’d done: “I really had to think outside the box because Devon and her band are doing something much different than what I typically produce. It took me out of my comfort zone, and that was a good thing,” he reflects. “In the end, I think we did something great. It’s truly a fantastic album.”

SHE PROBABLY KNOWS WILLIE NELSON’S ‘RED HEADED STRANGER’ RECORD BETTER THAN ANYONE
Worley’s family owns a cabin, and they make lots and lots of trips up there during the summer months. Because any good summer vacation has an even better soundtrack, for Worley’s family, Willie Nelson was the ticket — and one album in particular.

“Constantly, and for the longest time, the only thing we would listen to when we were up there was Red Headed Stranger,” Worley remembers. “I could sing that album backwards and forwards, in French, by the time I was, like, three.”

That explains why, when Worley briefly interacted with Nelson at a show one time, she cried for a half hour after.

AS THE ONLY GIRL ON THE BUS, SHE NEEDS A LITTLE SOMETHING TO HELP WITH THE SMELLS
When you’re aboard the same mode of transportation for a while — especially when it’s a tour bus and you’re on the road — it doesn’t exactly feel (or smell) like a five-star hotel. So, Worley improvises.

“I have a candle on the bus that the guys gave me that we light when we park,” she tells The Boot, “because I tour with a bunch of old men.”

SHE HAS ANOTHER TALENT: MARTIAL ARTS
Worley grew up in a karate-loving family: They own the National Karate schools that are located throughout the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.). She has her black belt, and can probably hold her own if a show gets rowdy, but her real love has always been music; according to the Sun Post, when she was about 3 or 4 years old, Worley snagged a microphone at a karate tournament to belt out “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” - The Boot - By Christina Vincent