Devon Michael Sedrick Drops Bold, Queer Debut Album Fifty One Fifty
Happy Friday, folks! Our weekend soundtrack has officially arrived. Singer-songwriter Devon Michael Sedrick just released his debut album Fifty One Fifty, and it’s one of those records that feels both like a gut punch and a warm hug.
This project is as personal as it gets. Sedrick didn’t just write the songs; he produced the entire album himself, creating something that’s as raw and unfiltered as the story behind it. Raised in Idaho as the eldest of six in a mixed-race Mormon household, Devon grew up in a whirlwind of noise, faith, and expectations. It wasn’t until he came out as gay and eventually left the church that he found the freedom to carve out his own voice. That journey—complicated, messy, but deeply authentic—is stitched into every track on Fifty One Fifty.
The title isn’t just catchy; it’s loaded with meaning. Borrowing from the California police code for an involuntary psychiatric hold, Devon uses it as a metaphor for taking a hard look at his own choices and finally confronting what needed to change. “The song Fifty One Fifty is about me ‘fifty-one-fiftying’ myself,” he explains. “It’s the moment I realized I wasn’t proud of my actions, and I had to face and change the parts of myself I was finally ready to confront.”
If that sounds heavy, it is, but the beauty of this album is that it never lingers in the dark without offering a way out. Sedrick is unafraid to sing about anxiety, heartbreak, and even suicidal thoughts, but he pairs those confessions with a message of healing and self-acceptance. “It’s about returning to a place of wholeness,” he says. “We all have dark sides, and I want people to look at those parts of themselves without shame, and with the courage to make conscious shifts.”
Of course, this is also an album that knows when to have fun. The lead single You Suck is pure catharsis, half anthem, half middle finger, and fully liberating. Devon calls it a reminder that it’s okay to laugh at what used to hurt us and reclaim our power. It’s cheeky, it’s playful, and it’s probably going to get stuck in your head.
Other highlights include Skin and Bones, a fierce anthem of bodily autonomy, I Want It All, which makes no apologies for ambition and desire, and Excited, a song that reclaims queer joy after growing up in an environment that tried to suppress it. These tracks aren’t just bangers; they’re milestones in Sedrick’s evolution from silence to full-throttle self-expression.
Stylistically, the album lives in a space where looping pedals meet wide-open creativity. Sedrick layers sounds until they swell into something bigger than the sum of their parts, pulling from influences as varied as Matt Corby, Tash Sultana, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and H.E.R. And it doesn’t hurt that much of it was dreamed up by a man who literally sings to the ocean. Living on a sailboat in Marina del Rey and practicing surfing, Sedrick says his best ideas come in the water. “The water always gets rid of my anxiety, which is the biggest block for my creativity.”
At the heart of Fifty One Fifty is a simple but powerful goal: to remind us that embracing every part of ourselves—the messy, the complicated, the joyful, the queer—can lead to freedom. “I want people to accept themselves fully,” Sedrick shares. “Sometimes we have to really evaluate how we’ve been living so that we can gain the power to live exactly how we want to.”
The release is only the beginning. Devon is gearing up for his first solo tour, where he’ll be bringing Fifty One Fifty to life with the help of an international lineup of musicians. “I am so overwhelmed by the support of my bandmates and their love for the music,” he says. “I cannot wait to play and meet as many people as possible.” The tour kicks off later this month in his home state of Idaho and winds down the West Coast. Here’s where you can catch him:
- Sept 27 – Boise, ID – The Shredder
- Sept 28 – Seattle, WA – Vermillion
- Sept 30 – Vancouver, BC – The Roxy
- Oct 2 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Hideaway
- Oct 4 – San Francisco, CA – Music City
- Oct 5 – Santa Cruz, CA – Streetlight Records
- Oct 8 – Anaheim, CA – The Doll Hut
- Oct 9 – San Diego, CA – The Garden Cafe
- Oct 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Hotel Cafe
So here’s the plan: grab your headphones, pour yourself a drink, and let Devon Michael Sedrick take you on a journey through the highs, lows, and everything in between. Fifty One Fifty is out now on all major streaming platforms, so go ahead, give it a listen. You deserve it.
Fifty One Fifty is available to stream on all major music platforms. Visit devonmichaelsedrick.com for tickets and moe. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Devon Michael Sedrick. Photo by Stacy Dean.
