EVAN HONER | Finding The Right Route
- Tommy Moore
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
A Conversation with Singer Songwriter Evan Honer on Reinvention, Slowing Down, and Letting the Songs Catch Up
Interview by Tommy Moore
Photos by Harrison Hargrave
With Evan Honer's third studio album, Everything I Wanted, he puts together his first intentionally cohesive body of work that flow's from front to back like a sunny summer's day
On the heels of a breakout year, Arizona-born songwriter Evan Honer talks touring, impulsive life decisions, the grind and luck behind “overnight” success and virality, and why he’s finally learning to slow down.
Evan's touring heavy early in 2026 with many friends of DAYBREAK including harf, Sam Burchfield, and Timmy Skelly. See all those dates here.
Tommy Moore: Woodstock is just beautiful.
Evan Honer: Totally. Woodstock and Montana are my two favorite places.
Tommy Moore: It’s always such a good stop on tour too—especially on the East Coast.
Evan Honer: Yeah. Not many people play here, but I play it every chance I get.
Tommy Moore: Bearsville Theater, right?
Evan Honer: Yeah, Bearsville. We played there a couple weeks ago, and the Colony last year.
Tommy Moore: So the new album.
Evan Honer: My last two albums were basically collections of songs I recorded over a long period and then grouped together. This time was the first chance I had to actually sit down and make a record intentionally.
I built a studio in my garage, and we recorded the album straight through over 18 days. I put a lot more thought into what songs belonged together. It finally feels cohesive—like it has a theme.
The story basically goes from, “I’m not giving love a shot,” to slowly opening up, to “maybe I actually will,” to “maybe I won’t self-sabotage this time.” By the end it’s like, “might as well try.”
There are also songs about being on the road and the last two years of touring.
I recorded it with my friends: Garrett Hall, Shane Travis (my roommate), and Tyson—my guitarist and drummer, who are also my roommates. We were just hanging out in the garage for 18 days making songs. That’s the whole vibe.
"My last two albums were basically collections of songs I recorded over a long period and then grouped together. This time was the first chance I had to actually sit down and make a record intentionally."
Evan Honer Photographed by Harrison Hargrave
Tommy Moore: Does that arc—starting closed off and opening up—reflect where you’re still at now?
Evan Honer: Funny enough, I think I’ve already moved past a lot of it. My girlfriend just moved in—we live together now—so some of those songs don’t hit the same way anymore.
The thoughts still matter, but they’re more like reminders now. I’m trying to do what I wrote about: give things a chance, not self-sabotage.
I don’t know what the next album’s going to be, but I don’t want it to be about the same thing.
Tommy Moore: What’s the balance like emotionally between creating—writing, being in the studio—and the current pressure of constantly making content for the internet?
Evan Honer: It’s a lot. And it’s not just content—it’s the touring, too.
Before touring, all I did was write. Then I got lucky enough to tour full time, and suddenly I’m hardly writing on the road. I’m learning to be okay with that and treat life in seasons.
It’s weird—you become a full time musician, but sometimes feel less like an artist because you have so little time to actually create.
And yeah, social media plays a huge part. I think about it every day. Sometimes it’s encouraging, sometimes it’s really discouraging. You put a lot of time into something and it just doesn’t hit.
So I’m trying to focus only on what I can control: making the best music I can, making the best videos I can, and playing the best shows I can.
Tommy Moore: Yeah, and you have to care without caring too much—otherwise your happiness gets tied to one clip’s performance.
Evan Honer: Exactly. And it’s easy to compare yourself to artists who blow up overnight—like Somber. It’s insane. That comparison game is rough.
But again, I’m trying to focus on what I can control.
"It’s weird—you become a full time musician, but sometimes feel less like an artist because you have so little time to actually create."
Evan Honer Photographed by Harrison Hargrave
Tommy Moore: I remember seeing your story about getting the 3 “X” on American Idol. It reminded me of that John Moreland line about what’s cooler than being on a Zach Bryan album is getting kicked off of a Zach Bryan album.
Feels like not making Idol and then building something real is way cooler than going on Idol and fading away.
Evan Honer: Yeah, totally. Same with the Grand Ole Opry—apparently the list of people banned from the Opry is cooler than the list of people who’ve played it. Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings… those guys.
Tommy Moore: What’s your touring situation?
Evan Honer: I just got back from Germany two days ago. Today we’re driving to Portland, Maine to open a few shows for Vance Joy and play a couple festivals.
I didn’t want a huge fall tour—just these shows. Then the rest of the year I’m focusing on figuring out what’s next.
Tommy Moore: I think I actually fly out to Portland in two days.
Evan Hone: Wait, really?
Tommy Moore: Yeah, we’re doing that run, too. I think we end in Burlington.
Evan Honer: Oh shit, that’s awesome.
"Same with the Grand Ole Opry—apparently the list of people banned from the Opry is cooler than the list of people who’ve played it. Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings… those guys."
Tommy Moore: So what does the off season look like? Are you back in Arizona?
Evan Honer: I’m in Nashville now. Not exactly sure what the off season looks like yet. I’ve been inspired by Djo’s new record The Crux and his whole creative process—writing and recording at the same time, exploring ideas, not rushing.
I want to experiment more instead of writing a song on guitar, sitting with it forever, then recording it. My taste has changed a lot since my first album. I want to try different things and see what gets me excited.
Tommy Moore: That’s very much your 20s—your taste changing constantly. And being on the road changes how you listen to music. I barely listen to anything now.
Evan Honer: Same. Sometimes I want to hear new stuff, and sometimes I don’t want to listen to anything at all.
Trying to figure out if I should lean into inspiration or avoid noise.
Tommy Moore: I always go back to ’70s country as my baseline. But honestly, a lot of the time I just want silence now.
Are you guys music on or headphones in during drives?
Evan Honer: If I’m driving, music’s on. Most of the time, though, it’s headphones for everyone. Then eventually someone goes, “Okay, come on—let’s talk or play a game.”
Most van hours are dead quiet.
Tommy Moore: That’s touring in a nutshell.
Evan Honer: What about you guys?
Tommy Moore: A mix. Some guys are headphone people. Some will drive and put music on. The Oliver Hazard guys always have headphones in. One of them watches old war documentaries on the dashboard while driving.
Evan Honer: Yeah, that tracks.
Tommy Moore: Every crew operates differently but the same.
One funny rider thing: our front of house guy always requests that whoever shops the rider prints and frames a portrait of themselves and signs it. His house bathrooms are covered in them.
Evan Honer: That’s hilarious. I’m curious how many people actually do it.
Tommy Moore: Maybe 40%. People either love it or absolutely refuse.
Evan Honer: In Europe we were trying to adjust our rider but it was too late. They were on a mission to find Coors Light. I was like, “Guys, we’re in Germany. I don’t need American Coors.”
"In Europe we were trying to adjust our rider but it was too late. They were on a mission to find Coors Light. I was like, 'Guys, we’re in Germany. I don’t need American Coors.'"
EVAN HONER \ Finding The Right Route
Interview by Tommy Moore
Photos by Harrison Hargrave
Evan's touring heavy early in 2026 with many friends of DAYBREAK including harf, Sam Burchfield, and Timmy Skelly. See all those dates here.
