Nashville singer-songwriter Evan Honer releases ‘Everything I Wanted’

As he crafted his new album, “Everything I Wanted,” 24-year-old Evan Honer spent 18 days in his Nashville garage studio reflecting on the present and dissecting the past.

2024 was a massive year for him.

His cover of Tyler Childers’ track “Jersey Giant” was certified gold. He moved from California to Nashville. His tunes had garnered over 500 million streams. His own label, Cloverdale Records, had been growing since its 2023 formation. He was playing sold-out shows.

Honer’s third studio album dives inward.

He hones in on what it feels like to touch that success, but also the things that might be missing — the parts of his life where he wants to see growth. It’s all interlaced in a tight, 13-track collection of indie folk.

Honer spoke with The Tennessean about his latest project, an autobiographical record that meditates on romance, roots and life on the road.

Evan Honer’s new record captures uncertainty and touring hardships

“Everything I Wanted” dropped on Sept. 19, showcasing Honer’s alt-pop and Americana sound with vulnerable songwriting and sincere, yet theatrical, vocals.

Released via Honer’s own label, “Everything I Wanted” walks the line between country, rock and folk.

Layered with emotive horns, pedal steel, and strings, Honer’s record has a couple through-lines, he said.

“It starts with songs that are (about) not giving love a chance,” Honer said.

There’s “Better Off Lonely,” an acoustic track where a tortured Honer sings: “When the hell did I ever not treat you right? / Long strung out days and sleepless nights / From the start you should’ve told me / Cause damn it I’m better off lonely.”

Eventually, Honer hopes he can give commitment a real shot.

“I’m halfway to realizing that I have to get out of my own way,” Honer croons, singing that there’s a girl he met on the road. “But maybe for once / I’ll quit the leaving / When the goin gets tough.”

Other tunes on the record capture Honer’s uncertainty, a characteristic he said he’s always carried. “I go back and forth on a lot of things … I think I just think too much,” he said.

Honer also sings of life on the road. “It’s not as glamorous as maybe people think,” he said. “It’s very difficult for me.”

He captures the highs and lows of a career in music, paying homage to fans that make it all worth it.

By the end of the record, the gentle folk track “Finally Commit” sees Honer itching to devote himself to something, or seemingly, someone.

The next album of Honer’s may be a lovey-dovey one, he said, once he’s able to push past his own personal barriers.

In this record, he’s trying to get there — but he’s “Not There Yet,” another tune on the track list.

Who is Evan Honer? Why the singer-songwriter moved to Nashville

Honer started playing guitar at age 13 in church during his upbringing in Arizona, but his main passion was always competitive diving.

He didn’t take music seriously until he was 18 and doing door to door sales one summer in Minnesota. He picked up the guitar again and, for the first time, tried singing along.

In the fall, he went off to California Baptist University where he was on the dive team and studied business.

He would sing around friends when he had free time, but when COVID-19 sent college students home in 2020, Honer suddenly had more free time than ever before.

“I just got really obsessed with the guitar, with singing, and tried to write songs,” he said. After COVID, Honer began performing for the first time.

“I was absolutely terrified,” he said. “I had nightmares before my first open mic.”

He would post his songs on social media, and at the end of his junior year, Honer and his friend, singer-songwriter Andrew Montana, posted online. “If anybody wants us to play at their house, let us know,” they said.

They ended up on a tour from Nashville to L.A., playing shows at the houses of social media friends.

In Nashville, they hit the stage at the Beep Bop Box House. They performed a show in Memphis where nobody showed up. And then they got robbed. They rocked some houses in Texas and Arizona. Trial by fire taught Honer about life on the road.

After a back injury during his senior year, Honer went all in on music and left the diving behind.

In 2022, Honer went viral for “Jersey Giant,” his Childers cover.

He released his debut album, “West On I-10,” on graduation day and hit the road for more shows. In 2024, he dropped his sophomore album, “Fighting For.”

Honer formed Cloverdale Records, which now has at least 25 artists and over 100 releases, and decided to relocate to Nashville, where a handful of artists on his roster live. He moved to town in April 2024, and now operates the label from his living room and has built his four-car garage into a music studio.

Producer Garrett Hall came on board to work on “Everything I Wanted,” and after the duo spent a little over half a month “trapped in the garage,” the album came to life.

And while Nashville doesn’t feel like a permanent location to Honer, who said he’d like to move to somewhere like Montana, it’s the right fit for now.

Just recently, Honer experienced the magic of Music City when he got to meet his hero, Tyler Childers, at Childers’ July pop-up show at Nashville sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf Icehouse.

“Dude, I cover your song all the time,” Childers joked with Honer. “I love ‘Jersey Giant.’”

It was a big moment for Honer.

“Tyler Childers is part of the reason why I started doing music,” he said. “I’m just excited to keep evolving with my music, kind of like how Tyler Childers is. That’s why I respect him so much.”

Childers pushes back on what fans expect of him, follows his artistic instincts and doesn’t box himself in, Honer said. He isn’t just a one kind of artist, and Honer doesn’t want to be either.

“The last couple years I’ve been trying to find what feels good, and this album feels good.”

To learn more about Evan Honer, visit evanhoner.com.