Written by Camden Meyers
Photos Provided by Zoë Evans
California is known as the sunshine state and the place where dreams come true. However, for dreamer Zoë Evans, California was only the birthplace of her dream. Born in San Diego and raised in Santa Fe, Zoë Evans now resides in ‘The Big Apple’ and is working on her next EP. Zoë has taken a firm hold on the reigns of her destiny and is working tirelessly in an effort to achieve her musical goals, which may not be that far off!
Zoë grew up in a household where music was highly valued. At an early age Zoë’s parents pushed her and her siblings to begin the long process of learning to play the piano. Zoë was the only one of her siblings to seriously pursue a career in music. From the moment Zoë heard the smooth and sweet notes of the ivory keys ring through the air, she was hooked. To this day there is an intense and palpable emotion felt in the room when Zoë plays piano. The reason behind this is because it reminds her so strongly of her father, who taught her to play, a freeze-frame moment in time that will always be a safe place for Zoë. At the age of nine, she began toying with lyrics and poetry and continued to develop her musical prowess, and she began to learn to play guitar in high school. As her skills increased, she began songwriting and at the young age of 15 she started playing local shows. As she honed her craft she began collecting accolades as she was nominated in 2005 for a New Mexico music award for her song "Build Up", which she co-wrote with Grammy award winning producer Larry Mitchell. Shortly after this, Zoë attended an art school in Santa Fe where she reunited with her 6th grade music teacher, Nancy Kenney, who believed in Zoë so strongly that she helped her to record her first studio album.
Received well locally, the creation and success of this debut album propelled Zoë’s interest and passion for music forward and as luck would have it, an advertisement for Berklee College of Music featuring a grungy, bad-ass female bass player tugged at her heart strings. It was this moment that she knew what her next step would be. Zoë was accepted to Berklee and took off to begin her higher education and continued to pursue her dream. While attending school, Zoë majored in songwriting. She tells how a major sticking point in her musical development was her strumming pattern. Similar patterns in her songs led listeners to grow bored of her style. To overcome this she worked with instructors like Andrew Maness to learn more jazz chords and soon after, she started writing and singing to studio produced beats. Her new guitar skills combined with some coaching on lyric writing from Pat Pattison (who has worked closely with artists like John Mayer) gave her style and cadence the adrenaline shot it needed to reach the next level of success.
Today in New York City, Zoë has written and released two wildly popular singles, “These Dreams” and “Again." The latter which explores the feeling of experiencing a sweet moment in life combined with the bitterness of wondering whether or not you will ever feel this good again. Inspired by modern artists like Kygo, Camilla Cabello, Selena Gomez, and Pharrel.
Her new EP is a blend of pop beats, electronic build-ups, and powerful yet smooth, fresh and pleasant vocals. Although it doesn’t have a name yet, the EP will be released in the fall or winter of this year and will have three-four tracks. It promises to be the new height of this young and talented artist’s career and the platform from which she will rocket into the industry as an up and comer. When asked about what it means to her to create this record she said “it’s a blessing to be able to create something out of nothing, whether it’s music or anything artistically…I am incredibly blessed”. You can catch Zoë playing live at popular music venues around Brooklyn and in September at the Rockwood Music Hall. You can also find her on Spotify and on all social media platforms as @zoeevansmusic. This is an artist to keep an eye on.
