Click “PLAY” below to listen to Evo’s music while you read his bio!
Evo is a folk musician, producer, educator, and writer who grew up in the folk music world. His father, Gene (a 2022 Inductee into the Valley Music Hall of Fame), was a musician/educator and the leader of “The Bluestein Family.” In this unit, Evo and his siblings Jemmy, Joel and Frayda, recorded and performed with their father across the U.S., Europe and Asia. These experiences provided Evo with the musical foundation upon which he would build his career.
His first recording was with the “Roundtown Boys Oldtime String Band” right out of high school. He then went on to lead “Bad Boys Zydeco”, and collaborate in the band, “Lyquid Amber.”A multi-instrumentalist (button accordion, banjo, fiddle, and guitar), he has produced instructional videos on all these instruments. Evo also designed a version of the autoharp that has come to be known as the Evoharp, and he has been ranked as one of the world’s finest autoharp players.
In addition to performing on a regular basis, Evo has developed a residency program for schools. His “American Folk Dance Residency” has been popular in California schools since 1996 and is a highly effective community building tool for both primary and secondary levels.The program incorporates the traditions of folk music and dance and helps student learn some history, develop spatial/motor skills, and have lots of fun.
Evo is also the author of several books on local folkmusic history. His “Road to Sweet’s Mill” centers on the Sweet’s Mill Music Festival, a former logging camp that became the magnet for many key folk and old-time music figures beginning in the early 1960s. Evo’s interviews tell the story of this annual event that was billed as a “folk music camp and life festival” that was really part campout, part workshops, and all jam.
Other books by Evo include “Rings Like Silver, Shines Like Gold” that tells the story of his parents, Geneand Ellie Bluestein, and “Wind Blowing Across a Field” which explores the world of folk musicians before the age of computers and the internet.
You can learn more about Evo and connect with him by visiting his website, click here to have a look.