13-year-old starlet wins Johnny Marr Award 2025
Eva Johnson is the latest winner of the award, which is funded by The Smiths guitarist to support talented young musicians in Salford.
With her passions set on a career in music, Eva applied for the Johnny Marr Award with an impressive portfolio of accomplishments behind her.
The aspiring star began dancing when she was just 3 years old and she started performing in professional musicals not too long after that.
In retrospect, this was a clear sign of things to come.
Eva’s skills have seen her perform in the Les Misérables UK Tour in both Liverpool and Manchester when she was just 8 years old, as well as in the ensemble in Identical - The Musical at The Lowry. She also starred as the lead child in the world premiere of The Time Traveler's Wife at Chester Storyhouse - just before it transferred to London’s West End!
In 2024, Eva was accepted onto the prestigious British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT) residential course in London. With funding from The Salford Foundation Trust, the young performer headed to the capital to rehearse for 'When We Strike', where she landed the lead role of Mary Driscoll.
After two weeks of hard work, Eva performed on stage at Southwark Playhouse and blew the audience away with her solo - including Mary Driscoll’s great granddaughter!
“My confidence soared and I have never been so happy. I met some amazingly talented creatives and cast members with whom I have a wonderful friendship. The older girls were brilliant role models. It has spurred me on all the more to pursue a career in musical theatre.”
A worthy winner
After speaking to Eva following her Johnny Marr Award application, there was no doubt in our minds that her spotlit dreams will become a reality… especially as she’s already shown that she’s made for the stage.
The level of dedication and commitment that she has already shown is rare to see in a 13-year-old, and we wanted to give Eva that extra boost to support her on her musical journey.
Eva will be putting the £1,000 towards:
professional singing lessons with MAPAS to improve her technique
a selection of sheet music and backing tracks so she can learn and practise with her new singing teacher
a portable sound system and good microphone that she can use for gigs
studio time so she can record some tracks for a vocal reel
Eva also says that she wants to gain some experience singing in local nursing homes and other gig venues, so she will be expanding her repertoire to include songs that elderly audiences would enjoy (she's currently listening to some old war songs) in addition to songs tailored towards younger audiences.
“Winning the Johnny Marr award is such a special thing for me. I’m so happy! I think it will open so many doors for me - doors I didn’t even know were there. I’m excited for the opportunities it will give me to perform for a wider audience. I’m also excited to start singing lessons with MAPAS, as I think this will really help me with my technique.”
The future for eva
Eva is more determined than ever to pursue a career in music. She’s torn between musical theatre and pop at the moment, but she has the rest of her teen years to figure that out!
One thing she is sure about is her desire to audition for Pendleton School of Theatre for college, then it’s onto drama school. She wants to gain as much training and experience as possible before then.
In the meantime, Eva is spending a lot of time learning new songs, extending her knowledge of musical theatre and polishing her technique.
She will also be training with BYMT again in summer 2025, having successfully auditioned for their show called Choreomania. After rehearsals, Eva will perform on stage at the Birmingham Hippodrome at the end of August.
There are so many exciting things in store for Eva - we’ll be waiting in the wings to see where this award takes her next!
Thank you to Johnny Marr for funding this award and supporting young people like Eva in recognising their potential.
“Salford is home to so much creative talent. This award is about giving young musicians and artists the encouragement they need to believe in themselves and develop their craft.”
The Johnny Marr Award is an initiative dedicated to supporting the next generation of musicians and artists in Salford. Established with legendary guitarist Johnny Marr, the award aims to empower young talent from Salford with the resources and mentorship they need to thrive in the arts.