Evan Honer is one of my favorite, rising musicians. Only recently did he take the music world by storm with his cover of “Jersey Giant” by Tyler Childers, which is arguably one of my favorite covers to date, and now tours internationally while running his own record label, Cloverdale Records.
Evan rocked out Boulder Theater on March 23rd, 2026. Evan is widely known for his Americana roots, and personally says he makes “sad boy folk music” – which, true. However, through his lyricism, Evan explores the complexities of a variety of heartaches young adulthood brings about, and he does it with a humility that makes his songs digestible and healing for all of his fans.
Despite the heaviness his songs can bring, Evan also knows how to bring out the energy – and I had the insane luck of shooting his backflip entrance.
Evan’s setlist relied heavily on his recent album, Everything I Wanted. While keeping himself rooted in his Americana folk sound, he also has pulled from country sounds. Tracks like Everything I Wanted, Place I Hate, and my personal favorite (and the title of the tour), Long Road echoed through the theater as the crowd sang back, word for word, as if the concert was a conversation on heartbreak, growing in the aftermath, and enduring adulthood hardships.
One aspect of Evan I deeply admire is his immense ability to be vulnerable about hardships through his music on stage. Evan played Brother, a song about his brother’s schizo-affective disorder and how it has affected their relationship. Being able to gently open up about hardships to a crowd of strangers is a remarkable strength of his, and touched the crowd quietly as they listened to Evan’s story. Evan also presented a quiet moment with his song Mr. Meyers, a song about his grandfather and the heartache of living alone after the passing of his grandmother. These two particular songs stood out to me as Evan ponders the emotional weight and complexities of the hard parts of being human – he does it exceptionally well.
Evan successfully brings the energy back up after these two songs. Finishing off the last parts of the setlist with Jersey Giant, Better Off Lonely and Maybe For Once, the crowd is energized. He finalizes the show with a remarkable cover of Sugar, We’re Goin Down – completely unexpected, absolutely incredible.
Evan’s tour is remarkable to witness. Evan will be opening for Tyler Childers in June on Tyler’s “Snipe Hunt” tour. Before you know it, I think Evan Honer would sell out stadiums with his talent, authenticity, and ambition as an artist.
