Doors at 7:30 PM. Music at 8:00 PM. Suggested donation of $10.
Evan Blackerby has something to say. He’s been relentless in working to cultivating his own musical voice and sound - a sound that can only be described as alt-bluesy Americana, folkish-rock-esque singer-songwriter. With the passage of time, he’s found confidence and has become more comfortable in his unpolished honesty and ability to craft a song worth listening to. Evan’s first concert was Paul McCartney on his ninth birthday. He leans on influences from cassette tapes of Otis Redding and CDs of Stevie Ray Vaughan to downloads of The Avett Brothers and vinyls of The Beatles. His voice and songs are described as if Ray LaMontagne and Jack Johnson could have a child. He began crafting songs as his own unintentional version of self-care therapy in a particular seventh-grade literature and creative writing class. That year, he found an old Yamaha three-fourth size guitar (that he named Junior) at his grandparents’ house and began learning a few chords. He has, over the years, developed a sound that is uniquely him, while his goals to bring people together have never changed. Writing in bathrooms, bedrooms, stairwells, parks, and cars for over three decades, Blackerby had never fully jumped into the music world. After turning 41 years old and losing his job in 2022, he declared himself to be a full-time musician and sought to fill his entire schedule with gigs and opportunities to grow in his musicianship. From solo shows (billed as himself) to full-band shows (billed as Evan Blackerby & the Bandwagon), he has played in public over 600 times over the past three years. The Bandwagon often includes the inimitably melodic Brett Morgan Thompson on guitar, the incessantly groovy Lelan James Estes on bass, the creatively percussive Ralph Butcher on drums, and the soulfully driven Michael Van Patter on keys. The Bandwagon is a solid experience.His debut full-length, full-band album "Hop on the Bandwagon" —recorded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by Doug Williams at Electro Magnetic Recorders (Avett Brothers) with Thompson, Estes, Butcher, and Van Patter — and mastered by Grant Livesay at 68 Sound — was released in January 2025. On these unpredictable and wide-ranging tracks he explores the intersections of living a full-life, the passage of time, digital distractions, conformity, beauty in the midst of pain, hope in the midst of upheaval, and the freedom found in pursuing truth. Blackerby relentlessly seeks out true fans of his music and will begin recording his sophomore album in 2025. He still has more to say.
FB & IG: @evanblackerby
YT: @evanblackerbymusic
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