Evan Bartels is a Nebraska-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter whose powerful baritone and deeply human storytelling have made him a distinctive voice in contemporary Americana. Raised in the tiny prairie town of Tobias, Nebraska, a community of just over 100 people, Bartels draws inspiration from rural life, faith, longing, and redemption. Telling stories about ordinary people with extraordinary depth and compassion, he crafts songs that are intimate, emotionally resonant, and unflinchingly honest. Bartels began writing songs, playing guitar, and performing at age 13, honing his craft in a backyard recording space his father built, affectionately known as Coop Studio.

Bartels earned national recognition with his 2017 debut album, The Devil, God & Me, and has since grown a devoted audience through Promised Land (2019), Lonesome (2021), and his 2025 EP, To Make You Cry. Recorded live with little more than acoustic guitar and vocals in his handmade cabin outside Nashville, the EP captures the stripped-down honesty and vulnerability that define his work.