Evan Nicole Bell puts the pedal to the metal in her searing new soul-rock single Runaway Girl — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The title track from the Baltimore singer-songwriter and guitar-slinger’s recent EP, Runaway Girl captures the up-and-coming phenom in full flight, hitting the sweet spot between soul, blues, R&B, pop and rock — and showing off some serious fretboard skills to boot — while spinning a compelling and darkly mysterious tale of obsession and flight:
“Perfect alibi
No one knows I might
Sneak out in the middle of the night
Kiss your tender lips goodbye…
Feel like I’ve been running a hundred different ways
I don’t even know I’m losing track of days
Starting to see my face on TV
Everybody’s coming after me
I don’t wanna be your runaway girl
But if they come for me just tell ’em I did what I had to do
I don’t wanna be your runaway girl
But if they come for me just tell ’em that I’m somewhere on the loose.”
And make no mistake, people are coming for her. Those in the blues music scene have already been captivated by Bell’s debut EP Runaway Girl, released independently at the start of 2024. But even with this brief taste of her music, it’s clear that she can’t be confined to a single genre.
Runaway Girl kicks off with an unbridled version of Muddy Waters’ Catfish Blues, with Bell introducing her blazing guitar chops. But the title cut is where her own songwriting skills are on display, establishing a pop-soul foundation to allow her powerful, four-octave mezzo-soprano voice to take flight.
It was only a year or so ago that Bell’s social media videos — showing her playing songs by blues and rock heroes such as Albert King, Prince, Jimi Hendrix and Sister Rosetta Tharpe — began going viral, earning praise for her melodic vocal style and instrumental prowess. Her profile was further enhanced through a half-hour live session that included a cover of Tracy Chapman’s Gimme One Reason. Her songs have now been spun on over 100 radio stations, and she’s even caught the attention of blues-rock maestro Joe Bonamassa, who has added her tracks to his personally curated playlists.
Evan’s passion for music began in adolescence through studying piano, finger-style acoustic guitar and classical guitar. But that passion skyrocketed in 2018 when her mother gifted her a new Les Paul, which she promptly nicknamed Stormy, and she immersed herself in music theory and the blues — eventually leaving her job as an educator to pursue music full time.
With her debut album in the works, Bell is poised to fulfil the promise that Runaway Girl has made. Whether you call her music blues, soul, R&B, or some combination of all three, her sound will make an immediate and unforgettable impact.
Check out Runaway Girl and watch Evan Nicole Bell perform it live above, hear the rest of her EP below, and make tracks to her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
