Evan Nicole Bell

Last updated
Evan Nicole Bell
Evan Nicole Bell live.jpg
Bell performing in 2022
Background information
Born
Evan Nicole Bell

(1997-02-15) February 15, 1997 (age 28)
Texas, U.S. [1]
Education Duke University (BA)
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • guitarist
  • producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • electric guitar
  • acoustic guitar
  • bass
  • piano
Years active2022–present
Labels
  • Hummingbird Records
Website evannicolebell.com

Evan Nicole Bell (born February 15, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She received notable attention in August 2022 following a viral X video showcasing her singing and playing "Crosscut Saw" by Albert King.

Contents

Bell's debut extended play (EP), Runaway Girl, [2] was released in 2024 and was featured on the Peabody Award-winning blues radio program King Biscuit Time . Bell's first full-length album, Shades of Blue, released in 2025, was written, produced, and engineered by Bell, who performed all instruments except drums. [3]

Life and career

Early life and education

Bell was born in Texas [1] and grew up in Columbia, Maryland. [4] She is a graduate of Duke University. [5]

In an interview with Baltimore magazine, Bell described being raised in a household filled with Motown, soul, gospel, and funk music, citing artists such as Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes, The Isley Brothers, Michael Jackson, The Bar-Kays, and Teena Marie as formative influences. [6]

She began playing acoustic and classical guitar at age 13 and took up electric guitar at age 21, when she was gifted an Epiphone Les Paul by her mother. [7]

Career

2021–2023: Online presence

In August 2021, Bell uploaded a video of herself covering "Crosscut Saw" by Albert King to YouTube and Facebook to participate in Play Music on the Porch Day. One year later, in July 2022, the video was shared by a Sweden-based blues account, where it received over 250,000 views, increasing Bell's Twitter following from 12 to 10,000. [7]

Following her first viral moment, in October 2022, Bell was invited to perform a special Live Session for Public Radio Music Day by NPR Music member station WTMD, who called her "one of the most exciting newcomers on the Baltimore scene". [8] She performed her original music and covers of songs by Koko Taylor and Tracy Chapman. Her performance was one of six chosen from hundreds across the nation to be featured on the front page of NPR Music. [7]

2024–present: Recording career

In January 2024, Bell released her debut EP, Runaway Girl. Her songs were featured by Joe Bonamassa in playlists highlighting "the best" blues, blues rock, and soul blues music. [9]

In January 2025, Bell released her debut album, Shades of Blue. Todd Snider praised the album, stating "I got this album a week ago and have not stopped playing it. It’s like Prince meets Lightnin' Hopkins." [10]

In 2025, Bell co-wrote and performed on the track “Feel Me Better” with G. Love & Special Sauce, providing vocals and electric guitar. The song was released as the lead single from the group’s album Ode to R.L., a tribute to blues musician R.L. Boyce. [11]

Music style and influences

In a call for papers on Langston Hughes’s Blues Vision in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners , scholar Tony Bolden included Bell among “contemporary artists exemplifying salient principles and values characteristic of blues music,” alongside Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Gary Clark Jr., Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, and KIRBY. [12]

Bell is a mezzo-soprano. [13] She has cited Koko Taylor [1] and Jimi Hendrix [14] as musical influences.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Personal life

Bell is a documentary photographer and has shown two exhibits of her work. [16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stephenson, Mike (Nov 2023). "Blues Youngbloods: Evan Nicole Bell". Blues & Rhythm Magazine (380): 10. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Marinus, Peter (14 February 2024). "Review: Evan Nicole Bell – Runaway Girl". Bluestown Music. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Sugarman, Joe. "Blues Musician Evan Nicole Bell Isn't Your Typical Rough-and-Tumble Guitar Slinger". Baltimore Magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  4. ↑ Hemphill, Corin (20 April 2018). "Evan Nicole Bell: Documenting through photography". The Durham Voice. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Duke Senior Evan Nicole Bell Wins CDS's Julia Harper Day Award". Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. 9 May 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Sugarman, Joe. "Blues Musician Evan Nicole Bell Isn't Your Typical Rough-and-Tumble Guitar Slinger". Baltimore Magazine. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Evan Nicole Bell: Public Radio Music Day Session". NPR Music. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  8. ↑ "WTMD hosts live, local music all day long Oct. 26 for Public Radio Music Day 2022". WTMD.org. 19 October 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "Viral sensation Evan Nicole Bell to perform debut concert in Catonsville". BmoreArt. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  10. ↑ Anderson, Martin. "Thursday 1/23: Evan Nicole Bell – Shades of Blue". WNCW. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  11. 1 2 Wippsson, Johan. "G. Love Announces New Album 'Ode To R.L.' Available November 14th". Melodic Net. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Bolden, Tony. "Langston Hughes's Blues Vision in Ryan Coogler's Sinners: A Special Issue of The Langston Hughes Review". The University of Pennsylvania · Department of English. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Verhagen, Jos (20 January 2024). "EP recensie: Evan Nicole Bell – Runaway Girl". Blues Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  14. ↑ Kessel-Tamerus, Esther (13 January 2024). "Übersicht Über Die Albumrezensionen: Papooz, Evan Nicole Bell, Ludovico Einaudi Und Mehr". Maxazine. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  15. ↑ "Shades of Blue by Evan Nicole Bell". Apple Music. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  16. ↑ "Senior Evan Nicole Bell Named Duke Chapel C. Eric Lincoln Fellow". Duke Today. 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
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