Teen of the Week: Newport grad shares love of music
Newport grad shares love of music
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On an overcast day in downtown Marietta, local musician Evan Cunningham strummed through various chords in the warm glow of Jeremiah's Coffee House on one of his 13 guitars.
"I will be performing here for First Friday in July," Cunningham said.
Evan Cunningham is an 18-year-old from Newport, who fell in love with music nearly a decade ago and never looked back.
"My grandma bought a guitar at a yard sale, like a $25 thing and it was for all her grandkids but I kind of took it and it went from there," Cunningham said of his early musical roots.
Cunningham has been with local program High Schools That Rock for five years, which was designed to bring young musicians together to support each other and local talent.
Evan is "polite, gentle and well-behaved," High Schools That Rock Director Mark Doebrich said.
"He's a very talented student, musician and kid," Doebrich said. "He was always so quiet and rarely spoke in the group, and his mom told me he could sing."
Cunningham's humble nature about his abilities was thwarted by his fellow members of the group at a performance at Kreamy Kreations on Greene Street.
"The students asked him to sing…all the sudden the kids started playing and here was Evan singing," Doebrich said. "Not only was his mom right about him singing, he could sing really well."
It was through High Schools That Rock that Cunningham was approached and asked to perform his first solo gig two years ago.
"Since then it's really taken off," Cunningham said.
That first performance marked the beginning of a rapidly evolving passion. Since then, Cunningham has released a country EP, "Burnin' Gas," which has two original songs and four covers.
"I try to write stuff that people can relate to," Cunningham said. "My first song was 'Burnin' Gas,' and I wrote it right after I got my license about that feeling of feeling free when you get your license," Cunningham said.
His other original song that has been released so far, "Crazy for You," was played at the Frontier High School senior prom this year.
Anthony Mossburg, a former Frontier High School student and Ohio Music Award winner, and Waterford local Jake Binegar are major local influences on Cunningham's musical style.
"I look up to them for songwriting and just about anything," Cunningham said. "I've been working with him a lot with (Binegar) which is super cool, I look up to him."
Several performances in the past two years are special for Cunningham. Cunningham played at a Labor Day festival in Paden City in 2019, where he performed "Country Roads."
"There was a WWII veteran that came up to me and said that he was in Vietnam the first time he heard that song," Cunningham said of the touching interaction he was able to have and the connection he fostered with another person through his music.
The feeling of connecting with the audience is also one that Cunningham cherishes.
"I love hearing the crowd cheer after a song," Cunningham said. "I played at the River Town Grill a few times…and they started singing along, and that is such a cool feeling."
Cunningham also has performed at several local senior centers with an upcoming performance at the Pleasants County Senior Center Reopening Bash on June 7 in St. Marys. This will be his first live performance since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
"It's really cool because you get to hear stories and they like to hear the older stuff," Cunningham said. "I am hoping for a good turnout and good weather…I've missed playing a lot (due to COVID,) but it has given me time to really reflect and write a lot."
Beyond music, Cunningham also has athletically and academically excelled. As a 2021 graduate of Frontier High School, he received $11,550 in community scholarships and a $25,000 music scholarship to Marietta College, where he will study Music Therapy with a minor in business in the fall. He has spent the last two years taking general education credits at Washington State Community College as well.
"Our whole family is excited to see what his future holds and will support him in whatever he pursues," said Holly Cunningham, Evan's mother and one of his biggest supporters.
Cunningham's desire to pursue Music Therapy came through his performance experience with senior audiences and his desire to help others.
"Seeing how music can affect people in different ways, it really kind of opened my eyes," Cunningham said.
Cunningham was also recruited for the Marietta College men's golf team after being a member of the Frontier High golf team, which is new and has already achieved runner-up status this past school year in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference.
Cunningham works at Pioneer Golf Course in Marietta and umpires for the Marietta Bantam Baseball League in his free time.
"I just want to be a positive role model and be the one to say if you set your mind to it you can do anything," Cunningham said.
The EP "Burnin' Gas" is available on all music streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
Jenna Pierson may be reached at jpierson@newsandsentinel.com