Evan Harmes

Joining CCR in October of 2025, Evan has been enthusiastically presenting his love of music. He appreciates a wide range of music across a lot of genres and plays an eclectic mix of classic tracks and lesser-known tunes.

However, his biggest passion in music is for Jazz. Evan joined the Essex Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2021 with very little experience of Jazz. He quickly became engrossed in the genre and has been quickly expanding his repertoire. With the band, he has played concerts in various venues, including concerts in Austria. Evan plays a range of instruments, with his main being piano and bass. After leaving EYJO, Evan is now the pianist for the Essex Youth Dectet and will be playing with them in gigs across Italy.

Some of Evan’s favourite musicians include Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, Red Garland and Blue Mitchell. Evan has started presenting a Jazz show on CCR, with an aim of proving that jazz still has a place in the modern world. In his shows, he plays an enormous range of Jazz music; traditional styles like swing, blues and bebop all the way to modern interpretations with fusion and funk. Evan often interviews guests, gathering a mix of opinions and illustrating the depth to jazz music.

Outside of Jazz, Evan has also played in several gigging bands on bass, playing local venues around Essex. One of his biggest highlights has been performing along side Frank Turner.

Along side his passion for music, Evan is also a top performing Ballroom and Latin dancer. Last year, he became a National solo vice champion and has won multiple national titles over the years. He started his dance career in 2019, and slowly worked his way up. He has competed in many prestigious competitions across the UK, including the beautiful tower ballroom in the Blackpool tower and the magnificent winter gardens. His favourite dance is the Quickstep, due to its fast but flowing movements.

Evan recently began presenting the Wednesday Drive at 5 show solo having worked alongside other team members, he is steadily gaining confidence. Evan’s enthusiasm and humour is infectious and sure to improve your mood. Why not join him for the ride.