Recent events:
LDW’s band, Sixth & Third “partied with a purpose” for Democratic candidates on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at A Thin Place, a Creative Salon in Altadena, CA.
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THE ORIGIN STORY: Sixth & Third started in 2017 in the living room of Lorraine’s brother, actor/director Tom Amandes, when the two of them got together to “run through some songs for fun.” With him on piano, her at the mic, they started with a repertoire of original rock, R & B, and singer/songwriter tunes Lorraine had accrued over decades of singing and songwriting with various bands, and it didn’t take long before they decided there was something special there, enough to make the collaboration official.
Riffing on their sibling birth order—she’s the third, he’s the sixth—they named the band Sixth & Third, and played their first gig at a house party with Tom’s talented son, Ben Amandes, on cello, acoustic guitar, and cajón, and longtime friend, Jeff Brown (the bass player in Lorraine’s original ’80s band, DEVON) on rhythm and lead guitar. With a setlist of originals and handpicked covers, that first gig was a smash success, convincing them to make it a regular event.
Over the next couple of years, they continued playing various house parties and Democratic fundraisers around LA (including an event with noted character actor, Troy Evans, who opened the show with his famed “Montana Stories”), adding Tom’s originals and collaborations between him and Lorraine to their repertoire. When the decision came to fill out the band with bass and drums, it was both natural and karmic when Jeff’s son, Jeffrey Brown (who was a toddler when DEVON was playing in the ’80s!) came in on drums, and, with even more of a legacy behind him, Erik Krogh, who recruited Lorraine for her first pro band back in Illinois in the ’70s, Lonnie & the Lugnutz, stepped in as bassist.
When Ben eventually moved to New York, the band coalesced around the four players and Lorraine, and while they were ready to “keep on rockin,'” the pandemic hit, grinding all potential gigs to a halt. Starting back up in ’24, Tom had to step away for the bulk of that year to play the iconic “Gandalf” in a Chicago/New Zealand production of Lord of the Rings, a Musical Tale, but when 2025 rolled around, they were ready to “get the band back together.”
With Lorraine’s novel, Chick Singer, focused on a “former ’80s rock singer,” it wasn’t a stretch when the manager of a local Los Angeles bookstore, The Book Jewel, suggested they bring Sixth & Third in to accompany her book presentation with a set of her original ’80s music. The gig was such a success, the store ultimately hired the band to play their 5th Anniversary party, a wild event that included all the band’s songs from both then and now.
PRAISE FOR SIXTH & THIRD:
“A wonderful group of people with a common purpose on a beautiful night under the stars with your incredible voice reaching the heavens! Love love love Sixth & Third!” Debbie Zipp, Sisters In Outrage
“Thank you, Lorraine!! You and the band blew it out of the park last night! Thanks to all our friends and family who donated, and with your help and generosity, we raised A LOT!” Tufty Productions
“Everyone is still raving about about how amazing your event was!” The Book Jewel Bookstore
“We loved that you did original music! Really appreciated that your songs were meaningful AND entertaining! We actually got up and danced!” Fan mail from Tufty Production fundraiser guests
“Sixth & Third and Troy Evans on the same bill is just a knock–out win/win!” The Hiner House
“You guys are the BEST!” The Book Jewel Bookstore
If you have an event, party, or fundraiser, and Sixth & Third would be a great fit for your entertainment needs, please send a message through the contact form below and we’ll be in touch! To listen to a selection of songs included in the band’s playlist, click HERE.
A Little History on LDW’s Performance Journey:
A child of the Midwest with roots in folk music, a theater major at the University of Illinois; a teenage belter who left school to tour with popular road band, and later a veteran of the wildly creative music scene in LA, Lorraine Devon Wilke virtually immersed her life in the arts.
Highlights include her years fronting an ’80s New Wave/Soul band, DEVON, the indie film, To Cross the Rubicon, which she co-wrote and co-starred in, as well as co-wrote and performed/recorded several songs for the soundtrack, and her creative collaboration with her husband, attorney/writer/producer, Pete Wilke, on his original musical, Country, the Musical, which had its smash premiere at the famed Crazy Horse Saloon, later performing at Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace. She was not only script consultant, media manager, and web designer for the the project, but starred as “Loretta Jane” in both productions.
The early-aughts brought about the band, Road to Blue, which led to her 11-song original CD, 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. More recent years have been spent acting and singing in occasional stage productions and, of course, her band, Sixth & Third, with, always, more to come!
Lorraine Devon Wilke @ IMDB. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association.
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