Evan Johnson Brings New Music to Concordia

by Hope Moural

From a young age, Evan Johnson has been interested in music and performing and is continuing his pursuits at Concordia and in the community. Johnson, a freshman studying to become a DCE, has plans to make it “big” in Nashville one day in the future.

“When I was little, I always loved playing guitar and singing,” said Johnson. My mom took me to concerts and my music teacher got me into performing and I always thought it would be awesome.”

Since coming to Concordia, Johnson has started band called “Cashless Kids” with a group of friends. They perform in locations around Seward, like the Red Path Gallery, and most recently, The R Bar in Staplehurst. Johnson, the lead vocalist in the band, is looking into performing at locations in Lincoln and hopefully recording songs in the future. The band usually performs two or three original songs written by Johnson, who says that he has five to six finalized. 15-20 others are currently in the process of rehearsal.

Johnson and his group play Southern rock and/or folk music, which is the area Johnson aspires to make a career out of. In addition to singing and songwriting, Johnson plays guitar and the mandolin, as well as most string instruments. His group plays Southern rock, along with folk music, which is the area in which Johnson aspires to further his career.

As far as his studies at Concordia are concerned, Johnson says that being educated as a DCE would allow him to be musically involved.

“I want to take my knowledge that I get here so that I get my priorities straight so even if I didn’t make it big, I won’t be going off the deep-end,” said Johnson. “And with being a DCE, I’ll still be bringing music to people.”

Johnson shares that if the exact plans of performing his own music doesn’t work out, his backup is to write songs for artists located in Nashville.

“I love music so much that even after graduation, I’ll keep trying and won’t get discouraged by it,” said Johnson.

But a dream like this one doesn’t form without the support of others, of which Johnson says family members and past teachers have spurred. Johnson names his guitar teacher, Ed Osborne, who taught him when he was younger as an inspiration to further his dream.

As for musical inspirations,  Johnson says country music star Eric Church and English singer/songwriter Passenger are high up on the list because of how hard they work as well as how long it took them to make a career out of their passion, finally reaching that goal and gaining notoriety. He also quotes country musician Kenny Chesney as a source of humility and reminder that being passionate about the subject makes it worth the struggles and process.

Johnson is well-aware that his big plans for the future are a work in progress, as it sometimes takes awhile for talent to be noticed. Johnson’s love of music keeps him going,

“The music is in your being, even when I’m tired I’ll go play or write a song,” said Johnson, “The music makes it worth it.”

Evan Johnson entertains fans at the R. Bar.
photo by Sarah Johnson