30 Apr A Big Breath with Devon Baldwin

In the days leading up to SunFest, I found myself repeatedly falling into to Devon Baldwin’s dreamy, pop songs.

It is clear that Baldwin isn’t your average female vocalist. The young singer-songwriter attended Loyola University and earned a degree in both music and opera.  She’s bright, beautiful, and approachable, a refreshing find in today’s world.

If you listen to even one of her songs, you’ll understand she was meant to sing, but a torn lung threatened her spotlight.

“It was so weird,” Baldwin shared with SunFest. “I was not allowed to sing for three months. I got super lost. When it first happened I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to sing again, just because I had no concept with what was happening. It was terrifying. [But] it ended up being kind of a blessing in disguise. I had focused on lyrics more, and ended up coming up with a lot of the lyrics on the Lungs EP.”

During that time of rest, the rising star penned her favorite song on her EP, “Oceans.”

“At the time I didn’t really know what the song was about,” Baldwin shared. “It just kind of came out of me. But after the fact, in retrospect, I was realized the song was about struggle and getting through things. I’m excited to perform it.”

Tonight, she will be performing new material for the SunFest crowd.

“This is my first time performing any of [Lungs] live so I’m super excited,” she said. ”I also just recently did a cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire.’ I’m going to come out to that song, and I’m just super excited. I haven’t performed that yet live either.”

Although she’s performing new material, her sights are already set on the future. She has plans to put out another release in 2016, and tour in the fall.

Often referred as fellow SunFest performer G-Eazy’s “muse,” it is incredible important to note that this intelligent, talented, and poised artist has her own trail to blaze. She has a great sense of humor too.

“I’m my own person. I’m a total goober,” she says, laughing. “I think some people are intimidated by me, for whatever reason, but really I’m just a big nerd from San Francisco. I would really like to share my music with people and share confidence with people. I have a hard time being confident and I’m really good at being my own worst enemy. I think a lot of people can relate to that. I want to give [listeners] confidence and strength.”

Do not miss her set tonight, at the Ford Stage, at 8 p.m., and keep this beautiful musician on your radar.