On Halloween night, queer pop diva Jenna DeVries is bringing fierce, femme vibes to Chattanooga for a special party in Coosa Mill.
“We all wear masks, and it’s important to create safe spaces so people can take that mask off,” the part-time Chattanooga resident and former American Idol contestant said.
Jenna’s life experiences have informed her music, and she’s recently rebranded — going from the stage name “DeVries” to “Jenna DeVries.”
She wrote an album in Chattanooga during the height of the pandemic, and at the Halloween party she will bring the pop vibes that fueled her previous sound, as well as her recent artistry, which leans more Americana.
What’s in a name?
Jenna called herself an open book, and shares freely her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist family. Both her parents are “conservative and homophobic,” she said. She was not allowed to listen to secular music growing up, so her first album was like “emo Disney princess music.”
In 2015, Jenna auditioned for American Idol, and ultimately made it to the top 24 in the competition. Around that same time, she also got traction from America’s Got Talent, and the feedback she got from industry insiders was that she was falling in between genres. They wanted to push the country sound, so that’s what Jenna did.
“I leaned into that …and did well,” she said. “When I moved to Nashville, I started writing and performing country music…and had a whole EP. And then I realized I was gay.”
Especially at that time, country music wasn’t very friendly to gay artists.
“I was losing my family over coming out,” she said. “I wasn’t in a place where I could also be in a genre that felt combative. Indeed some space to be more loud and proud.”
So, she went pop, and used a message from her father to inspire her branding.
He texted her that she didn’t deserve to have the family name anymore. Her response? To name her pop persona the family name — DeVries.
Fast forward and she found herself in Chattanooga during the pandemic.
“I spent a lot of time just sitting at the piano and getting back to that foundation of why I started to write music,” she said.
She took it as a sign from the universe to go back to Jenna DeVries with her new sound, which she described as a combo of pop and Americana.
Mask on, mask off
When she plays in Chattanooga on Halloween, the show will be steeped in mask symbolism. Her pop performances represent the “mask on” era, while her new music is the “mask off” portion of the show.
And she’s ready for a party to remember.
“I want people to have a blast because it’s Halloween…and party in a place that feels like a warm, welcoming community,” she said.
If you go:
- What: Haute Halloween with Jenna DeVries
- When: Oct. 29, 8 p.m.
- Where: Coosa Mill 1800 S. Watkins
- Cost: $25
- More info: Eventbrite