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Kingston artists Devan & Khalid returned to their hometown this month — and they say the town has left an imprint in their music and their hearts.
On July 15, indie folk artists and Queen’s graduates Devan Glover and Khalid Yassein, known as Devan & Khalid, came back to Kingston for a performance at The Brooklyn.
Earlier this year, Devan & Khalid competed in the CBC Searchlight competition.
Fans voted online for their favourite artists from over 3,000 entries. Devan & Khalid were voted into the top 10 new artists, and were also named Toronto’s Best New Artist during the competition.
In an interview with The Journal, Yassein said they’re excited to receive national exposure.
“It helped us get our names out,” he said. “We got played on the radio like 20 times. We still get played on CBC — that’s probably the best part.”
Yassein said their favourite part of performing is seeing that their music makes an audience happy.
They love to bring that feeling through music, he said.
“Sharing our music is at the heart and soul of it,” Yassein said. “[We] can just drive to a couple of cities and meet cool people.”
This year, they’re planning on changing up their sound. Yassein said they’re currently assembling a full band for their shows.
“We’re recording next month in Hamilton at Catherine North studios,” Yassein said. “It’s where City and Colour did a couple of albums.”
They’ll be recording a 12-song album this year, which they aim to release in October.
Daniel Hosh, their new producer, has produced albums for several indie bands already, including Whitehorse, Said the Whale and City & Colour.
“[Hosh] is becoming a little bit of a legend,” Yassein said.
Despite their traveling, Yassein said he and Glover feel a strong connection with Kingston.
Their experiences at Queen’s inspired their EP This Town, released February 2014.
“[This Town] is a cool memory of where we were at in Kingston. [It’s] the stories of our lives then,” Yassein said.
After finishing their undergraduate degrees at Queen’s this spring, Glover and Yassein say they’re relieved to have time to focus on their music.
“It’s becoming our life and main focus. Having to balance school with music was really hard,” Glover said.
“Both of us really wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”
Although they’re glad to be finished, Yassein says they’re already planning their next visit to Kingston for the fall.
“We’ll be back for frosh week for some shenanigans,” Yassein said. “Kingston will always be very close to our hearts.”
Devan and Khalid performing at The Brooklyn. (Photo by Kendra Pierroz)
Their favourite Kingston memory is a backyard concert they organized with their friends before they all left at the end of their final year.
At the flowery-themed event, which they named “Couchella”, Yassein and Glover brought couches into Glover’s backyard for a performance.
After their friends opened for them, Devan & Khalid performed a set, Glover said.
Eventually, they and their friends began to sing together and reminisce on their time at Queen’s.
“It was so emotional,” Glover said. “We went out with a bang!”
Despite their achievements, Glover said she and Khalid see themselves as down-to-earth and relaxed people.
“We’re going to try and be more crazy,” Glover said. “We need better stories!”
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