I recently went to a Devon Worley Band concert. Honestly, I wasn’t really expecting much. Yes, I had heard of Devon before… Who hasn’t? I know that she is a teenage girl who sings country music. I don’t really like teenage girls OR country music so my attitude was nearly ambivalent and my expectations were low. I was expecting a teenage garage band or worse.For an about-town lady like me, this is hard to admit, but I was wrong. Devon not only had me at the first note with her rich, commanding voice but her band churned out a style of music I had a somewhat hard time identifying as country. Not that I am a country fan, but damn. It was rock, with soul and groove and yeah, I did hear some twang, especially in Devon’s voice. And I just gotta say, her band was friggin’ pro…emphasis on friggin’. Bottom line is that I loved the show and Lord knows I didn’t want to. That’s saying something.

I had heard rumbles about her show before. Mainly form other much older cats I know, who are working the same show circuit as Devon. They were totally underselling her. “The problem with Devon is that liquor sales are low at her shows.” That was one. The next one was “Devon isn’t very experienced for the big stages. We have more experience and buyers want experience.” Interesting. Now, I really have no reason not to believe these guys. Until, of coarse, I saw the show. Then my thought was “Me thinks thou doth protest too much.” The arguments seem fresh from the Self-Preservation Handbook. So here I sit, looking around this room chalk full of adults. Some of them I have “featured” in past gossip columns. Her fans aint broke ass college kids. There are a lot of notable folks here. All spending money. A lot of money. Then I watch this experienced sovereign of the stage run her show. I’m thinking the rumbles I heard earlier are just a grown up version of sour grapes with a side of scared stiff. Because with girl power like this in town, they won’t be top dogs for long.

And that my friends, is the gossip.