From Atlanta to Nashville this Southern man isn’t anything other than himself. Tony Evans Jr. is a Nashville-based country singer who has been inspired by many musicians to allow his music to speak for him. The emotions that each song embodies, like his latest hit, “Need Somebody,” allows you to understand not only his music but who he is as well. Tony shares his talent by placing each part of his life in his music. He embraces the heartaches, the love, and what he likes to call the “gray area” after dealing with a breakup, whether it be romantic or platonic. Our Tony Evans Jr interview dove deep into that and much more.
“Music has always been a part of my life. I’ve been in music since I was a kid. My dad was a singer, so I grew up going to the studio with him. My dad was an R&B singer and when he was younger, younger than I am today, he had a major deal in Nashville. But I moved to Nashville because I am a country singer and it only makes sense you know. I find my inspiration in many artists that I am currently listening to such as Teddy Pendergrass, Glenn Campbell, Earth Wind and Fire, so many different and great artists that allow me to improve and become a better entertainer. They help me to reach emotions that I may not normally tap into.”
For Tony, it’s bigger than music. Music allows him to express himself in ways that he may not show on a daily basis. He speaks to your soul and allows the music to talk to you while you understand every beat, instrument, and feeling in his voice when he sings. When “Need Somebody” went viral on TikTok there were many emotions, but more than anything, he was grateful.
“Need Somebody is a place of loneliness. I’m a black country singer, it’s not often that you hear that. Not just being a Black country singer, but also just being in the industry is a lot. No one really knows what I am going through. Being a musician can sometimes be isolating. It’s hard for me to relate to people, so with that life gets hard. There came moments where I felt like I was doing it by myself. I thought that was a foolish way to look at it because I do have family that I can look up to, it was more of the feeling of loneliness. When the song went viral it was a good feeling, sometimes I get to the point where I know that I need to get up and smell the roses.”
He realized that being himself and not allowing outside influences to steer him into being someone that he wasn’t would help his community gravitate towards him more as well.
“I grew up on the southside of Atlanta, so they know that this is just who I am. I just want to be myself and I feel like that is what my people would gravitate towards.”
Tony expresses that being in the music industry there can be a lot of outside pressure to conform. He states that people aren’t telling you to change or to put on those wrangler jeans. You will ask yourself if you need to be what you are in order to fit into what others are currently doing. Once he realized that he didn’t have to be who others were and he could honestly just be himself he decided to take his Bass Pro hat off.
He began to remember when he was a little boy who had such a high-pitched voice but still couldn’t hit those high notes that the other little boys could. As he got older, he started growing into his voice and realizing why his voice wasn’t able to hit the high notes that he so desperately wanted when he was younger. He started learning his voice and getting comfortable with how he sang. Tony’s story is an inspiration to any artist who feels as though they have to conform to the trends of the music industry or anything else.
“Everybody’s journey is different, you can’t compare your journey to another’s. Focus on your artistry, know who you are, and not care about the Instagram followers.”
Tony’s new EP, Starless, was released on Friday, March 10th. The project expresses who he is and the current state of his emotions by expressing his heartache, love, and the gray area that we may fall in at times. We are excited to see what else Tony has in store for us and his new projects.
Stay connected with Tony Evans Jr.
IG: @tonyevansjr
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