Despite getting a guitar first, Hughes considers himself to be a better drummer. Recently, Hughes had a drum solo at the Spirit Day pep rally. However, that was not the first time Hughes performed in front of his peers. Hughes also formed a band called The Happy Hollow Heartthrobs and wrote a song for Pi Day when he was in third and sixth grade, respectively.

“A lot of people respect performers. I’m not saying people respect me, but it’s a really fun thing to do,” Hughes said.

As a child, Hughes not only played guitar and drums, but also began to write his own music.

“The first time I can remember writing a song is when I was a little kid. We had just gotten a piano, so I just played around for hours. Eventually, I came up with my own little jingle,” Hughes said.

Although Hughes concentrated on instruments in elementary school, his focus soon shifted toward singing. Hughes was part of select chorus in middle school and joined the WHS Madrigals as a freshman.

“I never really thought I was going to start singing,” Hughes said. “Around fifth grade, I would write songs, and no one would be around to sing them, so I was like, ‘Well I’m not that great of a singer, but I’ll just do it anyway.’”

Hughes continues to follow his passion for music by recording and producing his songs. Hughes recently released his new EP, “Crunch Time.” Although Hughes often collaborates with other student artists, he finds it hard to fit meet-ups in his schedule. Hughes also finds tedious editing to be tiring.

“Sometimes when I’m producing, I have to go through and align every snare beat to the tiniest note, like a 64th note. It’s really annoying,” Hughes said.

Overall, Evan enjoys both writing and producing music.

“It gives me such a rush. I get really pumped when I come up with a good hook,” Hughes said. “I’ll be listening to a song and just get such a rush of ecstasy. It’s crazy. It influences your emotions a lot.”

Hughes is sure his love of music will last him a lifetime.

“I’ll definitely continue music for the rest of my life, whether or not I take it as a career. It might as well be impossible to be big in the industry these days, but it’s fun and makes you feel good. It makes other people feel good.”