Evership

Evership operates as a melodic progressive rock ensemble fronted by composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer/engineer Shane Atkinson. Operating from Nashville, the band merges the technical command and expansive reach associated with Yes and King Crimson alongside the arena-ready melodies of Styx, Kansas, and Led Zeppelin. Their self-titled first album appeared in 2016, followed by Evership II in 2018 and The Uncrowned King: Act 1 in 2021.

Atkinson, who had performed as a Nashville session musician throughout the 1980s and 1990s, laid the groundwork for the project in 2005 by constructing a personal studio and launching a commercial and film music production company whose earnings would support the eventual debut. Following an extended period of demo recording, he launched concentrated work in 2013 and brought in vocalist Beau West, bassist Jaymi Millard, guitarist and brother James Atkinson, and classical composer Charles Heimermann. The resulting immersive Evership surfaced in 2016 and earned praise within progressive rock circles.

Before the second album Atkinson revised the personnel, keeping James on guitar and West on vocals while adding Ben Young on bass and Chapman Stick plus John Rose on rhythm electric, classical, acoustic, and slide guitars. Evership II emerged in 2018, incorporating a live orchestra and expanded choral contributions from Heimermann. In 2019 Atkinson turned to his largest undertaking yet, a two-part rock opera drawn from the 1910 book The Uncrowned King by American author Harold Bell Wright. Its opening portion, The Uncrowned King: Act 1, reached listeners in 2021.