Tony Cummings turns the spotlight on brother and sister act EVAN & ERIS

Evan & Eris

Regular Cross Rhythms listeners will be familiar with Evan & Eris who since their first radio hit "Bad Energy" in 2022 have been showing that the US scene has lost none of its ability to deliver punchy R&B gospel with its key ingredients of rip roaring rapping and soulfully assertive vocal hooks.

The raps are delivered by Evan Ford while it's his younger sister Eris Ford-Ordenes who handles the vocal hooks. Eris describes her goal in the duo is "to bring God glory, to become someone that young girls can look up to and change people's lives with our music."

Originally hailing from Colorado, Evan and Eris, with two younger sisters, grew up in a very musical household. Said Evan, "Every house we've had has always had a studio." He said he doesn't remember a time when they were not around music. Both of their parents are worship pastors; their mother is a vocal coach and their father is a professional keyboard player.

Eris started singing at a very young age. "My mom says I sang my first solo at my grandpa's church when I was four years old." Evan also started singing at age four. At ages 11 and 14, respectively, they recorded their first song together.

Making and recording music together was a long, drawn out process. In fact, the first song on the duo's first collaborative album 'Seasons' - released in February 2019 - took seven years before it was ready for Joe Public. Evan was philosophical about the long process in creating the duo's music. "In every season, God is God, and God is still good. Throughout the lows and highs there's something you can learn from every season." 'Seasons' has now gone on to garner more than 35 million streams across platforms.

The duo's second album 'This I Know' has been another success and with radio hit singles 2023's "Talk" and 2024's "Paint The Sky" the demand is growing for this dynamic duo to make an appearance at Europe's premier showcase Big Church Festival.