To access Lorraine’s tunes, new and vintage, originals and select covers, click to her SoundCloud page:
September, 2020: Invited by creator/songwriter/bassist, Teo Lee, to be part of a diverse collective of musicians, emcees, singers, and activists, Devon Wilke joined The Funkin’ Rebellion on the track “Be The Change That You Want to See,” a call-to-action—in funk form—to voters of compassion, progress and change. Click HERE to hear!
August 17th, 2019: Devon Wilke’s band, Sixth & Third, appeared on a double-bill with noted actor and storyteller exemplar, Troy Evans, in a fundraiser for 2020 Democratic candidates. Performing at the enchanting Hiner House in Los Angeles’ Highland Park neighborhood, the event raised over $3000 for the cause. The band will be looking ahead to other performance opportunities in both the fundraising and private concert arenas.
A LITTLE HISTORY: A child of the Midwest with roots in folk music, a teenage belter who left college to tour with Lonnie & the Lugnutz, and later a veteran of the 1980’s music scene in LA, Devon Wilke has virtually underscored her life with music.
It was in Los Angeles where she first gained notice as a singer and songwriter with her original band, DEVON. The “new wave/soul” band built a loyal following during the height of the 80s, playing the famed circuit from Madame Wong’s and FM Station, to The Lingerie, Sasch, and The Palace. This was the memorable era of big hair, leather and lace, wild, raucous performances, and the sense of being part of a new movement: the MTV era, with its requisite clanging guitars, reedy keyboards, and outrageous costumes. Writing, recording, and performing songs that were a distinctive mix of New Wave rock and soul, DEVON was an industry and club favorite, garnering regional and international recognition while working with such respected producers as the late Bob Shad of Mercury and Mainstream Records, Australian hitmaker Brian Cadd, and rock veterans Bob DeStocki and Craig Krampf, to name a few.
By the late 80s, Devon Wilke was collaborating with Rod Stewart vets, Kevin Savigar and Jim Cregan, in a project called THIRD PERSON, during which time she worked with some of rock music’s best. Co-writing and recording songs that have appeared in numerous film soundtracks and performed around the world, she’s updated a few from this catalogue for her most recent project, Sixth & Third, including “Tender Mercy,” (CLICK to hear in its original recording).
CLICK TO LISTEN TO DEVON HIT “WHAT CAN I DO”: 
It was also during this time that Devon Wilke became a favorite session vocalist for production and publishing companies, cutting tracks for countless songwriters and jingle producers. Her vocals have been featured in commercials and industrials, television promos, film soundtracks, and TV theme songs.
With her music attracting the attention of filmmakers, she widened her focus to include screenwriting. One of her features, co-written with filmmaker Patricia Royce, To Cross the Rubicon, was produced by Seattle’s The Lensman Company, opening myriad new doors along her career path. The video below is a montage of scenes from the film soundtracked by her onscreen performance of “I Surrender.”
In 2001 she met Rick Hirsch, a versatile and accomplished guitarist, and they formed ROAD TO BLUE, a blues/rock project that quickly met with success, playing such noted venues as Harvelle’s in Santa Monica and B.B. King’s Blues Club at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. After developing a substantial library of original material, they produced and recorded an 11-song CD titled Richer for Rain, a project that later evolved into a solo vehicle for Devon Wilke under the new title, somewhere on the way. Well reviewed as “musically timeless,” this soulful collection of roots/rock songs garnered a new league of fans and deepened the respect for her singing and songwriting skills.
[Sixth & Third: (back row): Jeff Brown, Erik Krogh, Lorraine Devon Wilke, Ben Amandes; (front row): Jeffry Brown and Tom Amandes]
More recent songwriting and recording forays have taken her from Los Angeles to Chicago to San Diego, while her latest performing assemblage is Sixth & Third, a project spearheaded by her brother, acclaimed actor, Tom Amandes. With her nephew Ben Amandes on cello and guitar, along with bassist/guitarist, Jeff Brown (a veteran member of earlier DEVON days), his son, Jeffrey Brown, on drums, and bassist, Erik Krogh (from the earliest days… Lonnie & the Lugnutz), the group pops up whenever everyone’s in town—which isn’t often enough—but when it does, it’s always a grand occasion.
If you’d like a hard copy of Lorraine’s CD, Somewhere on the Way, get in touch via the contact box below and we’ll be sure to get one out to you ($10/inc shipping). To listen to her SoundCloud page, with a wide range of her catalogue posted, click HERE.
Lorraine Devon Wilke 