Devon Sproule

Devon Sproule (born 23 April 1982) is a folk and indie rock singer-songwriter and musician based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She shared the ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award for 2009 with Oren Lavie. She is married to fellow musician, and music producer, Paul Curreri.

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

Early life

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. She spent her childhood on the , 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:

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.

Career

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.

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. 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.""Our Critics Top Albums of 2003: Strokes, Shins and a whole lot of OutKast"
posted 31 December 2003 ''Rolling Stone Magazine''.

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

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."

Recordings

She released her first album when she was 16. Her second album, ''Long Sleeve Story'', was released in 2001 with praise from ''The Village Voice''. ''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. She and Paul Curreri performed two tracks from the album, ''Old Virginia Block'' and ''Stop By Anytime'', on the BBC
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