Rowan and Friends | Live at the Cardigan Arms

"ROWAN AND FRIENDS is the musical project of the Coventry-born, York-based singer-songwriter Rowan Evans. It began as a monthly night for Rowan to play some of his hundreds of songs with his friends at the pub. But it quickly transformed into a band of varying sizes, including members from fellow York bands Perspex and Bull. Present core members are Ollie Howland, Tom Gabattis, Adam Holmes and Jack Woods. They have played Rowan’s songs up and down the country supporting acts such as Junior Brother, Personal Trainer, and The Wave Pictures. 

Rowan’s songs tend to explore the idea of songs themselves, with Hard of Hearing magazine saying that he has “always had a keen eye for the song form, and how to twist it”. This is evident on his short 2021 collection, a song; a five minute album made up of nine 30 second songs. Following this he released a couple singles under Rowan including ‘Hammer, Jigsaw, Screwdriver’, which was recorded in Amsterdam with Remko Shouten Pavement, The Klittens, Personal Trainer, Bull.

More recently Rowan and Friends released their debut EP as a band: 5 GOLDEN GREATS. Though only five songs long, it shows the band’s sonic range, and Rowan’s continued lyrical exploration. From the folk-pop drama of ‘Skeldergate’ “the most miserable street in York”, to the dreamy electronica of ‘Stop Talking About Heaven’ something Rowan heard someone say to their daughter on a train.

In the new year Rowan and Friends are releasing their debut album Rock N Roll Super Powers - a culmination of their work playing Rowan’s songs together for little over a year. It opens with “The Everything Still to Come” - a slow burning alt-rock introduction which lyrically weaves into a dramatic climax - followed with the new single out 21st of January “Once a Rockstar” - an anthemic sendup of noughties radio rock. 

Following this, Rock N Roll Super Powers flicks through the rolodex of Rowan’s songwriting catalog. Expect songs about streets in York, country music, 100-car pileups and crawling under floorboards. It culminates in two climatic songs. One, the title track “Rock N Roll Super Powers”, and “Fading Away”, a York audience favourite - often played together live as a two-parter."