Imogen Evans: Blackpool’s Young Star Making Waves with 'The Towers'

At just 18 years old, Imogen Evans is quickly making waves in the music scene with her raw talent and powerful songwriting. Hailing from Blackpool, this singer-songwriter and guitarist has gone from open mic nights to headlining major local venues like Bootleg Social and The Waterloo Music Bar in a matter of months. With her debut album, "The Towers," fresh off the presses and already gaining airplay on BBC Introducing, Imogen is set to carve her name into the music world. Influenced by a diverse range of artists from Mother Mother to System of a Down, Imogen’s unique blend of indie, rock, and heartfelt lyricism is already capturing the attention of fans and critics alike. Get ready to meet the next big voice from Blackpool.

1. Your debut album, "The Towers," has been a project in the making since you were 12. How did your vision for the album evolve over the years, and what does the title still mean to you today?

When when I first wanted to write an album, I didn’t particularly have a vision in mind. The name originally came from my love of Alton Towers when I was younger but since then the meaning of the title has changed. Over the past 6 years, I’ve still clung onto my song In The Shadows which is one that I wrote when I was 12. Other songs from the album were written when I was 13, 14, 15 up until I was 17 years old. That sort of created my vision for the album; I wanted it to show my growth as a person and stay true to my younger self which is one reason why the name “The Towers” stuck. Now when I explain the title the towers I liken it to the tarot card. The Tower symbolises chaos and a whirlwind of emotions. The experiences that come with this can cause you to grow as a person. So while “The Towers” means something completely different to me today, it makes me so happy knowing how proud 12 year old me would be that we finally released an album with that title. 

2. "Be Fearful" and "Joy Is Subjective" both touch on deeply personal themes like overcoming trauma and finding joy in life's small moments. How do you channel these raw emotions into your songwriting, and what role does music play in your healing process?

When I’ve needed an outlet for my emotions, I’ve always found music to be incredibly therapeutic and a great way of turning negativity into art. Writing “Be Fearful” was a major turning point in my mental state at that time. Having been able to play it live has helped me to release so much of the anger and hatred that was attached to the lyrics, and whenever I feel those emotions creeping up I can sing it to release them again. Joy Is Subjective was a way of accepting the uniqueness of myself and accepting my fears of time being fleeting. Without our time being limited, it would be so much harder to find joy and meaning in life. Just taking a step back and appreciating the world for what it is and finding joy in small moments is so important. I find speaking my emotions difficult, but when I write my music or poetry they all seem to flow so easily, so it’s been a freeing thing to write this album. 

3. You’ve cited diverse influences from Mother Mother and Arctic Monkeys to System of a Down and Dodie. How do these artists shape your sound, and how do you balance these different influences while maintaining your unique voice?

I have a lot of different influences when it comes to music. Only recently has metal music influenced me with bands such as System of a Down becoming favourites of mine. Mother Mother have been my main influence largely due to the amount of interaction that I’ve had with the band. Ryan’s (lead singer of Mother Mother) solo project “GLDMTH” has been very influential to me especially when it comes to my song “The Letters You Wrote”. This song started out as a poem that I wrote after listening to the GLDMTH album, which I then adapted into lyrics. I’ve been told that I have a unique sound to my music which I can only guess comes from the fact that my songs come from an incredibly emotional and personal place. While I take influence from other bands, I don’t try to be like them as I love the individuality of artists. I like most music genres so taking influence from different aspects of different genres appeals to me majorly which I suppose creates my own unique sound. 

4. Many of your songs, like "The Letters You Wrote" and "Residing In Hell," explore complex emotions and layered meanings. Can you talk about your songwriting process and how you transform these themes into compelling narratives?

Sometimes when I write my music, I don’t have any meaning in mind until I’m halfway through this song. When I start writing, I often sing whatever comes into my head which develops into a story. Whatever I write always  seems to liken to my past experiences and from the meaning of the song gets more depth. The letters you wrote for example is metaphorically about clinging to the past and repressing yourself as a person due to fear of change. In a more literal sense it tells the story of someone refusing to let go of another due to fear of being alone. Having several meanings embedded I often find helps to make the song more interesting and easier to resonate with. I often try different ways of songwriting. Sometimes I start off with a guitar part sometimes a poem or sometimes a melody. I like to change the way I write as I find it helps my emotions to flow more freely. 

5. You've been actively performing live since 2022 and hosting open mics in Blackpool. How has playing live shaped your approach to music, and what are the most important lessons you’ve learned from engaging directly with your audience?

As I said before, performing live can be very therapeutic. My confidence has grown a lot over the past few years in terms of performing live. I was never really nervous to sing, but when it came to talking on stage, I was terrified. Having been on the Blackpool music scene and seeing so many incredible musicians playing their own music and engaging with audiences showed me that I could do it too. The most important thing I’ve learned from performing live is that even if someone doesn’t know the meaning of your song it can resonate with them in a completely different way. I think that’s what’s so great about music. We all experience and interpret it in different ways so it’s always personal to us.