I first met Devin Gutierrez at the 2018 Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) Spring Concert. I went to the concert because I had heard a lot of great things about TSBVI’s music groups, and my expectations were beyond exceeded by everyone’s talents. Devin especially stood out because he not only played in nearly all the groups that performed that evening, he also switched instruments from piano to guitar to vocals and back and demonstrated his fluency in all of the above. According to Devin’s Facebook page, his talents also extend to melodica, accordion, Irish penny whistle, and steel drums.

After the show I had the opportunity to speak with Devin about our quarterly Library Live concert series at Carver Branch Library to see if he’d be interested in performing at one of our shows. He jumped at the chance, and we were lucky to feature him in our September 2018 concert. In his sound check alone, he fired off a number of tunes ranging from hard-hitting jazz giants and keyboard legends like Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, and Stevie Wonder to chart topping hits of today by Ed Sheeran and others. He sang choice selections that sounded just as good as the originals, and then he would wail on his chromatic harmonica. The whole time he was rocking back and forth, literally pulsing with the music that seemed endless.

It’s clear to anyone within minutes of meeting Devin that this guy loves music, and he has the chops to back that up.

When his proper set began, he pounded out more tunes on his piano, and these were all new since his sound check. Immediately out of the gate he assigned vocal responsibilities to the audience who happily obliged. They cheered for him after every song and demanded an encore at the end of his set. The video below features his performance of one of his originals titled “The Map to Heaven.”

We are excited to welcome Devin Gutierrez back to the Carver Branch (1161 Angelina Street, Austin, TX 78702) stage Saturday, December 8th from 2-4 PM for our final Library Live concert of 2018. This time he will be accompanied by Mary Rose Bushland on vocals, and I heard they have some holiday classics planned for the show. We hope you can all join us and experience Devin’s talents firsthand!

Eric Clow
OMOD Project Coordinator
Art Spark Texas