Evan Honer at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles

Evan Honer is a country artist who auditioned for American Idol in 2023, and the judges gave him three no’s. Obviously, they made a huge mistake. With 2.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify, a song with 125 million streams, and a huge spring tour, it could have been a blessing in disguise. As an independent artist, he has made his way to a bigger venue in LA each time he tours. On the last tour, he performed at the legendary Troubadour.

After performing in CA cities from San Diego all the way to Bakersfield, Evan
Honer made his way to Los Angeles on March 6, 2025. As he flipped onto the stage, he opened up the night with his new single “Everything I Wanted”. The audience went wild as they started to sing along to the upbeat song, which seems to take inspiration from the pop punk genre in the 2000s.

He then noted later in the night that most of his music is much more sad. Evan writes music that connects with people as vulnerability resonates with his fans. Some more songs of the night included: “Take Me As I Come”, “idk shit about cars”, “Wake up, Come Down,” and his most streamed song, “Jersey Giant”, a Tyler Childers’ cover. The atmosphere in the El Rey Theatre was unbeatable. Fans were dancing around, rocking out, and shedding tears.
He opened up and gave us insight into his songs multiple times throughout the night. One that stuck with me after the show was “Brother” and “Mr. Meyers”. Before performing “Brother”, he shared how he wrote the song for his brother who lives with schizoeffective disorder. This moment was highly vulnerable to share, yet telling these stories in your songs matters. Evan is a true songwriter. I got teary eyed when he sang the lyrics:

“Oh brother I don’t see what you see and it kills me not to know”
“Oh brother I don’t feel what you feel but it’s eating at your bones”

Being able to verbalize one’s feelings so effectively keeps fans coming back for more. I can’t wait to see where he performs next in Los Angeles, as it was a great night of music in our city.

Jacob Wright opened the night with his song “New Jersey”, a somber but freeing song about self-reflection after the end of a relationship.

Check out our favourite photos of the night or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!

EVAN HONER

JACOB WRIGHT

All Photo Credit: Colin Hancock