Performing with Bruce Springsteen a cherished memory
Talented Niagara Falls teen, who was called to the stage by The Boss, making his mark with online shows
Evan Rotella showed his affinity for one of rock and roll’s greatest as a two-yearold kid when he picked up his plastic microphone and performed a Bruce Springsteen song for his parents.
Within a few years, the Niagara Falls youngster was a virtual walking encyclopedia of lyrics from hits by The Boss.
That fact caught the eye of Springsteen himself when Evan and his parents had front-row centre seats at a Springsteen concert.
His dad, David, who runs a creative company and who has a friend who’s a friend of Springsteen, said The Boss saw the boy in the front row — about seven years old at the time — singing along with him word for word.
“Bruce was getting a kick out of my son because he knew every word from every song,” said David.
Springsteen called the boy up on stage no less than four times. “At one point, he joked and said, ‘We’ll have to pay this kid,’ ” said David.
Evan remembers that day clearly. “He let me strum the guitar,” he said. “It was a great experience. I think he was surprised to see someone who knew his whole catalogue like the back of his hand, and he was a little shocked.”
Now age 15, the student at Saint Michael Catholic High School still loves old-school rock and roll because that’s what he grew up with due to his dad’s business and his dealings with performers.
“I grew up surrounded by these rockand-roll musicians,” said Evan. “It was a lot easier to get into it growing up because I’d watched it my whole life.”
Determined to be a rock star, Evan started taking lessons with teacher Anthony Di Carlo at the Niagara Rock Academy when he was about five. But Evan admitted he didn’t always want to practise the way he needed to: It took him until he was nine to learn to play his first song, Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” and the rest is history.
“He eventually found his spark,” said Di Carlo. “Now, he’s on fire.”
By the time Evan was 11, the talented guitarist and keyboard player was performing live, opening for Corey Cruise at a CD launch.
He’s been on stage with Steve Earle and played his share of gigs in New Jersey.
Evan even performed two years in a row at the Stone Pony Stage in New Jersey, where Springsteen got his start.
Playing live wasn’t easy at first for the teen. “I had the worst stage fright,” he said. “Ten minutes before a show, I’d be shaking.”
Evan was able to overcome his stage fright, but then COVID-19 put live gigs on hold. So, for much of the year, Evan has been hosting online live shows in a basement studio he and his dad built, belting out rock songs and some of his own original songwriting to get a feel for how people are receiving the songs.
The next show is set for Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. at facebook.com/evanrotellamusic.
David, calling Evan “old school” for his love of classic rockers, said many of the musicians Evan grew up admiring now see something of themselves in him.
“To some of my musician friends, he’s gone from being this cute kid to a peer,” he said.