Country Music With the Amp Turned Up | Devin Cooper
Devin Cooper likes his country music with a little more distortion.
Raised in Alberta, Canada, Devin has built his sound around the storytelling of country music and the guitar-driven attitude of the bands he grew up loving. ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and even Metallica have influenced a style that refuses to stay inside traditional country boundaries.
Canadian country-rock artist Devin Cooper discusses his Good Things: Deluxe Edition album, rock influences and independent music career.
Devin joins Heart of the Gulch to talk about his massive Good Things: Deluxe Edition, the momentum he’s building in Canadian country music, giving back through his annual Ride to Remember and why he’d rather make the music he believes in than follow somebody else’s rules.
Inside Devin Cooper’s Heart of the Gulch Interview
Welcome to Heart of the Gulch, a Nashville-based interview show and country music platform featuring artists, singer-songwriters and personalities shaping music and entertainment. Host and creator Tony Mendoza sits down with Canadian country-rock artist Devin Cooper to discuss Good Things: Deluxe Edition, his rock influences, life as an independent artist and bringing his music from Alberta to Nashville.
It’s a conversation with an artist who knows exactly what he wants his country music to sound like — and isn’t afraid to turn the guitars up to get there.
Heart of the Gulch host Tony Mendoza interviews Canadian country-rock artist Devin Cooper about his music, career and rock influences.
22 Tracks and Six Nominations
Devin didn’t exactly take the minimalist approach with Good Things: Deluxe Edition.
The double album stretches across 22 tracks, giving him room to explore the different sides of his country-rock identity. The project also helped earn Devin six Country Music Alberta nominations, making him the year’s most-nominated solo artist.
It’s significant recognition for an artist who has continued building his career independently while developing a sound that pulls from southern rock, country and heavier guitar music.
Country-Rock Without the Rulebook
Listen to Devin talk about his influences and his music starts making a lot of sense.
There’s the southern-rock foundation of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, the Texas swagger of ZZ Top and something you don’t hear referenced in every country interview: Metallica.
Devin Cooper talks about Good Things: Deluxe Edition, Country Music Alberta and blending classic rock influences with country storytelling.
Rather than hiding those influences to fit a particular country format, Devin leans into them.
That approach has taken him to stages including Cavendish Beach Music Festival, the Calgary Stampede and Nashville’s Whiskey Jam, helping him build an audience on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border.
Music With a Bigger Purpose
There’s another side to Devin’s story that has nothing to do with streams, albums or festival stages.
Through his annual Ride to Remember, Devin has helped raise more than $100,000 for the Alzheimer Society of Calgary.
It’s become an important part of the impact he’s trying to create outside of music and shows that his ambitions extend well beyond the stage.
Devin Cooper performs “She’s My Religion” during the Walk the Line performance segment inside the Heart of the Gulch studio in Nashville.
“She’s My Religion”
The episode finishes by turning the conversation back where it started: the music.
Devin steps into Heart of the Gulch’s Walk the Line performance segment for “She’s My Religion,” bringing the country storytelling, southern-rock grit and guitar-driven personality behind his sound into the studio.
Devin Cooper isn’t trying to figure out which side of the country-rock line he belongs on.
He’s turning the amp up on both.
Watch Devin Cooper on Heart of the Gulch
Watch the full Devin Cooper interview as he discusses Good Things: Deluxe Edition, his ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers and Metallica influences, his independent career, Country Music Alberta recognition and the story behind Ride to Remember.
The episode concludes with Devin performing “She’s My Religion” during Heart of the Gulch’s Walk the Line performance segment.
Tony Mendoza is the Nashville-based host and creator of Heart of the Gulch, featuring conversations with country artists, singer-songwriters and personalities from Nashville and beyond.
