A cross-country move to Nashville. An international touring schedule. A record label with 25 artists and more than 100 releases, all operating out of his living room. A recording studio built into his four-car garage. Evan Honer spent 2024 in a blur of momentum, expanding his life in all directions, playing nearly 100 shows in support of his second album, Fighting For, while writing new songs for its follow-up.   Only two years earlier, his cover of Tyler Childers' "Jersey Giant" had become a viral juggernaut, earning more than 200 million streams and launching his music career. He was busy then, too, balancing his college classes with nighttime gigs as a solo act and daily practices with the school's Division 1 swimming team. Things only intensified as school came to a close. Honer released the debut album West On I-10 on graduation day and quickly remade himself into a road warrior, balancing the challenges of early adulthood with an unbending commitment to music.   Then, one day, he learned to look around him and take stock of the present. Everything I Wanted finds Honer planting new roots in Nashville, his adopted hometown after a multi-year stint in Southern California. Recorded over 18 days in a garage studio that he built himself, it's a homemade record with big-studio sparkle, its 13 songs emphasizing the indie and alternative-pop influences that have always lingered on the outskirts of his sound. Here, they're moved to the forefront, pushing Honer beyond his roots as an acoustic Americana act and into something more eclectic and electrifying. There are string arrangements courtesy of a talented neighbor, Kate Stephenson. There are horn arrangements, pedal steel swells, and contributions from his roommates, too. At the center of that sound is Evan Honer himself: an acclaimed songwriter, storyteller, and bleeding-heart vocalist who, after years on the move, has learned to slow down a bit and appreciate the moment.   "My life completely changed this past year," he says. "I'm learning to be happy with where I'm at. I'm grateful that I get to stand onstage and sing songs I wrote in my bedroom, and people know the words and sing them back to me. How can you be upset about that?"   It's true; there's a lot to be grateful for. 500 million streams, for starters. An RIAA gold certification for his "Jersey Giant" cover. Sold-out shows alongside headliners like Wyatt Flores. The ongoing success of his own label, Cloverdale Records. With Everything I Wanted, though, Honer turns his gaze inward, writing autobiographical songs about romance, resilience, roots, and his relationship with his audience.   "When the going gets tough, I'll stick through the season," he promises during "Maybe For Once." On the surface, it's a love song to a woman he met on the road, her memory lingering in the rear-review mirror every time his van pulls away. For someone who's used to living life at 80 miles per hour, though, the song is something more: a self-made promise to focus not only upon the destination, but on the journey itself. "These songs are about me not getting in my own way," he clarifies. "I've stopped looking for reasons not to commit. I'm pushing myself to just let things happen." The rest of the record is similarly personal. On the cinematic piano ballad "It's a Home," Honer whisks himself back to childhood to unpack some traumatic family baggage. On "Place I Hate," he sings about a career filled with astral highs and bottomed-out lows. With the short-and-sweet "Waiting Room," he delivers a genuine love song in less than two minutes, showcasing just how concise his craft has become over the past three years. And with "Curtain," he sings directly to the fans who've supported him over the years, singing, "You guys bother showing up to hear me scream about my feelings… I don't know if you can tell, but I'm the one who really needs it."   Honer's previous album, Fighting For, was recorded during his first national tour, slowly pieced together in the studio spaces, living rooms, and AirBNBs he encountered while driving from show to show. Everything I Wanted, on the other hand, was recorded at home with producers Garrett Hall, Shane Travis and a small handful of guests. From the start, Honer embraced those differences. "The last thing I ever want to do is make something I've already made," he says, naming artists like Andy Shauf, Medium Build, and Pinegrove as the album's touchstones. He sought outside opinions, too, by embracing Nashville's co-writing culture. "Writing with other people was exciting," he adds, "because some of these songs wound up going to places I wouldn't normally go."   Longtime fans will notice those changes and more. There's the Beatles-inspired bridge of "Finally Commit." The noisy, full-band freakout that brings the final track, "Wonder," to a close. The drums kickstart "Lose a Friend," one of Honer's only tracks to begin with percussion. Now three albums into his career, Evan Honer has more than a signature sound — he has the guts to expand and evolve that sound, as well. There will be more shows to play… more horizons to chase down in a 15-passenger van… but as long as Everything I Wanted is playing, you can find Evan Honer at home, coaxing new sounds out of the garage, thankful for the moment even as it passes by.

“When it comes to songwriting, few can do it better than Nicholas Jamerson.” – Whiskey Riff The Narrow Way, the new full-length studio record from Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Nicholas Jamerson finds its grace in the space between folk storytelling and backroads country ramble. A heartfelt exploration of life’s struggles, joys, and the search for purpose, the record is rooted in the storytelling traditions of Appalachian roots and Americana music.   Produced by the brilliant Rachel Baiman and featuring collaborations with Baiman, Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), Tim O’Brien, Shelby Means, and Emily Jamerson, The Narrow Way blends poetic lyrics with authentic melodies to create a deeply personal and universally resonant listening experience. Weaving together vivid imagery and poignant themes of family, nostalgia, resilience, and redemption, the record is an invitation to reflect on life’s winding paths while celebrating the bumps and beauty of the journey.   Jamerson was born into a musical family in eastern Kentucky, where gatherings were full of guitars and songs. “My grandmother always had a camera rolling, which taught me early on that life is worth documenting” he says. “That’s what I try to do through songwriting: turn ordinary moments into something meaningful.” Starting out with piano and choir as a child, Jamerson added guitar, banjo and mandolin to his repertoire along the way.   After college, he co-founded the band Sundy Best and has released a dozen records between them and his solo work and band over the last thirteen years. “Music has taken me places I never dreamed, like the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry” he tells, “but more than anything, it’s a way for me to honor place and people, and to help others feel seen and proud of where they come from.” These days, in addition to his own music, Jamerson is working to mentor the next generation, helping other writers find their voice through projects like the Sleeping in the Woods Songwriter Festival.   Since the release of Peace Mountain (2023), Jamerson has been spending his time, as always, working. As fitting an artist who blurs the line between the universal and the deeply personal, that work has been focused on both the creation of this final chapter in the trilogy that began with The Wild Frontier(2020) and the growth of his inner world; spending time with family, deepening his faith, and trying to stay grounded while navigating the ups and downs of the world.   Written predominantly at home, The Narrow Way was recorded at The Tractor Shed in Nashville, TN. The record was produced by Rachel Baiman, and in addition to Jamerson on vocals and guitar it features performances by Baiman (vocals, banjo, fiddle) Josh Oliver (guitar, keys), Steve Haan (bass), Mark Radabaugh (drums) Tim O’Brien (mandolin and background vocals on “Working Man”), Zach Lafferty (lead guitar) Ketch Secor (fiddle, harmonica, and background vocals on “Prater Creek”), his sister Emily Jamerson (vocals), Phil Bronchtein (background vocals, keys), Aaron Smith (mandolin), Wes Smith (weed jar), Shelby Means (bass, vocals), and George Jackson (banjo).   Thematically, The Narrow Way is a meditation on walking a difficult but purposeful path while holding onto faith and integrity while navigating the messiness of life. Those universal touchstones of the human experience - faith and doubt, the complexity of family ties (love, conflict, reconciliation, and the longing for connection and understanding), and the heartache of nostalgia and loss, are all to be found within The Narrow Way. The rain feeds the flowers, and the deep greys are balanced by the lightness found through the dignity of hard work, the sharing of struggles, and the emotional labor of pushing through hardship.   Buoyed by and undercurrent of hope for personal renewal, forgiveness, and a clearer path forward, Jamerson hopes that listeners find the record a cathartic experience. “My hope is that it shakes something loose inside them—something they’ve been holding onto for too long—so they can finally let it go and leave it behind” he says. Written with a painterly economy of language, his songs shimmer in the space between narrative and allegory; a kaleidoscope of meditations set to music, they transcend genre and hit straight to the heart.   Expertly arranged and elegantly executed, it is a record built around eminently engaging melody and Jamerson’s soaring voice; clear and bright as the stars on a winter night. The Narrow Way is the final chapter in a trilogy that traces a journey of self-discovery, faith, and perseverance—written from the heart of Appalachia, where the sacred and the simple meet.   With a voice rooted in tradition and a pen sharpened by experience, Jamerson invites listeners to walk with him through the shadows towards something honest and eternal. The Narrow Way is a soul-stirring blend of mountain wisdom and familial remembrance, written by someone that carries the weight of memory, the fire of purpose, and the humility of a man still learning .