We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gabby Durden. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gabby below.

Alright, Gabby thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

For years, I was known as a professional gaming broadcaster. I spent over a decade in the industry, eventually becoming the first woman play-by-play caster for the League of Legends Championship Series—one of the biggest esports leagues in the world. On paper, it was a dream job. But behind the scenes, the environment was toxic for me. I was burning out, losing my voice—figuratively and almost literally—and feeling further and further from the person I wanted to be.

I pursued a career in esports because I believed it was a space where my creativity could flourish and my career could blossom. But by the end of that decade, while I accomplished more than I could have hoped for, I felt more like a cog in a machine I didn’t quite fit into—primed for harassment and skill suppression.

In 2022, I started to entertain the idea of moving on. But it wasn’t until I unexpectedly lost my mom that summer that the need to leave settled into my bones. Trying to process grief in that environment made it painfully clear just how unhealthy it had become, and the year that followed only reinforced that realization.

In 2023, I began releasing music as a way to process those emotions, and by the end of the year, I knew: music was the vehicle through which I could feel like myself again. So I left the LCS, moved from Los Angeles to Nashville, and began doing the deep emotional work it would take to rediscover who I really was and who I wanted to become.

The real risk wasn’t leaving. It was starting over. Walking away from something I’d built credibility in to begin again in a field where I had no name, no fanbase, no guarantees—in a city where I barely knew anyone—felt, honestly, a little unhinged. And I don’t think I fully grasped just how dramatic that shift would be. It’s taken two years to let go of my old life and begin building something new.

But here’s the truth: taking that leap has brought me closer to myself than I’ve ever been. I make alt-rock music now—emotionally raw, sometimes velvet-wrapped, sometimes gravel-laced—and it’s opened doors I never expected. The community I’m building resonates with the same things I do: grief, rage, identity, resilience. I may not have millions of followers (yet), but the ones I do have show up with real support.

I’m exercising my skills as both an artist and an entrepreneur, and the balance between those two roles is shaping something beautiful. I’ve grown more—creatively and personally—in the past year than I did in the five before it. And I’m finally figuring out which parts of my past I want to carry forward and which ones I’m ready to leave behind.

Shifting from gaming to music wasn’t just a risky career move. It was an act of reclaiming my identity. I still use everything I learned from broadcasting: production, storytelling, pacing, performance. But now, I use it on my own terms. Risking exposure to the lowest lows has made space for the highest highs. The path is uncertain, but it’s mine, and finally, it’s no longer stunted. That makes all the difference.

Gabby, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Gabby Durden—an alt-rock artist turning haunted houses into velvet-wrapped, gravel-laced ear candy. Raised between cultures and coasts, I write for the underestimated, the over-feeling, and the still-standing. My music lives between a punch and a hug—raw, melodic, and threaded with the edge of lived experience. If you’ve ever had to hold yourself together with both hands, you’ll hear yourself in my sound.

Before I pursued music full time, I spent over a decade as a professional gaming broadcaster, including four years as the first woman play-by-play caster for the League of Legends Championship Series. That journey taught me how to tell stories under pressure, how to perform on live broadcasts, and how to build community through connection. But when my mom passed away in 2022, I began writing songs to cope. What started as survival became transformation. And by 2023, I knew I had to follow the music.

Now, I create alt-rock songs that blend emotional storytelling with a bold, vibrant edge. My sound pulls from influences like Hayley Williams, Amy Lee, Halsey, and Linkin Park while occasionally weaving in Latin flair as a reflection of my mixed identity. I’m especially drawn to duality—beauty and brutality, softness and strength—and that shows up across my brand. The look, the lyrics, the visuals: all of it is built to be both inviting and intense.

I’m currently releasing music every 2–3 weeks as part of a year-long rollout to establish my sonic identity and build a strong foundation of fans who connect not just with my music but with the world around it. I produce high-quality DIY performance videos, visuals, and storytelling content that reflects my journey—whether that’s grief work, inner strength, releasing rage, or reclaiming joy. I also speak candidly about mental health, especially in the wake of trauma, and I want my community to feel like a place where people can be their full, messy, powerful selves.

What sets my work apart is that it’s not just about the songs. It’s about the world I’m building. I didn’t wait until I “perfected my sound” before releasing music. I’ve invited everyone into my journey, witnessing every blemish and triumph as I define myself as an artist. I’m blending music with visual storytelling, personal growth, and community-building—crafting a space where fans feel seen and inspired, not just entertained. I want to be known not only as a vocalist and songwriter, but as a multidimensional creative force with roots in gaming, storytelling, and resilience.

What I’m most proud of is that this path is entirely mine. No shortcuts. No machine. Just a deep belief in my story and a refusal to let pain define me. Every song, every reel, every live take is a reminder that we can rebuild ourselves—and still come out loud, bright, and unbreakable.

Whether you’re here for the sound, the story, or the community, I’m glad you’re here. We’re just getting started.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Absolutely. My entire journey as an artist is rooted in resilience because it wasn’t built on a foundation of ease or confidence, but on survival and reinvention.

When I left the esports world, I didn’t walk into a ready-made music career. I walked into uncertainty, with a voice I was still rebuilding and grief still pulsing through every part of me. I had to relearn how to create, how to trust myself, and how to show up publicly in a completely new context. And I did it without a big team, without a safety net—just sheer will, emotional work, and a belief that this path mattered.

There were times I doubted whether I’d ever feel like a “real” artist. But I kept writing. I kept releasing. I kept evolving. That’s what resilience has looked like for me: not perfection or fearlessness, but staying in the game when it would’ve been easier to walk away.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my music career is that “finding your sound” isn’t a one-time decision—it’s a process of constant micro-pivots.

When I first started releasing music, I didn’t have a perfectly packaged genre or identity. I was grieving, experimenting, and honestly just trying to stay afloat. My early songs leaned more into alternative pop and hip-hop with some rock elements peeking through. At the time, I was still rebuilding my voice through intense practice and experimentation. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out what actually felt like me.

What surprised me was how much of this journey was about listening. Listening to what I loved making. Listening to how my voice naturally wanted to sit. Listening to how people responded—not in a “people-pleasing” way, but in a “what’s connecting and why?” kind of way. And most of all, listening to myself as I reconnected with my intuition. As I kept creating, I started refining. Less pop, more distortion. More edge, more honesty. More of the rawness that felt scary to share at first.

Those small pivots—choosing a grittier production style, leaning into layered harmonies, writing with more intensity and less polish—started to add up. And over time, they formed something cohesive. I wasn’t just making songs anymore—I was building a sonic identity.

Even now, I view genre as a fluid thing. I’m grounded in alt-rock, but I allow room to explore. The key has been trusting that clarity comes from movement, not stillness. You don’t find your voice in a vacuum—you develop it in real time, by doing the work, staying curious, and being willing to shift.

So while there wasn’t one massive pivot moment, there were dozens of small ones—and together, they’ve shaped the artist I’m becoming.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gabbydurden.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabbydurden/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GabbyDurdenMusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamGabbyDurden
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GabbyDurden
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gabbydurden
  Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gabbydurden.com
  Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/gabbydurden

Image Credits

All photos were shot & edited by me (Gabby Durden)