Devin Cuddy is a singer songwriter based in Toronto. From an early age he was drawn to music of the past. While sifting through his father’s (Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo) CD collection, he found the music of Louis Armstrong and New Orleans blues piano players like Dr John and Professor Longhair. After attending York University for Jazz Piano, Devin started hanging around Toronto’s Cameron House, where he was inspired by the local singer songwriter scene. He began his performing career alone at the piano, playing every Wednesday night. It was during this time that he began writing and testing out his own material on an ever-growing crowd. Drawing from inspirations like Randy Newman and Steve Earle, Devin started to build up a catalogue of his own material.
When the Cameron house decided to start a label to showcase local artists, Devin was quickly recruited. His first release, Volume One, was released in late 2012 and was nominated for a Juno. In support of the release, Devin and his band headed out on a cross-country tour opening for his father’s band, Blue Rodeo. “This was a tour that really shaped my band and taught us a lot of about how to be a band and succeed on stage” Devin said “I’m very lucky and grateful to have had such an opportunity at such an early point in my career”.
Volume One was followed up by Kitchen Knife, produced by Greg Keelor, and then an EP called Amy’s Dream, produced by Chis Stringer, who’s songs Maggie’s Hardware Store (a cover of a Jack Marks song) and Radio took him in a more roots rock direction. This direction continues with Devins latest release Dear Jane.