mars hojilla is the freshly sprung solo project of Iowa City-based singer/songwriter Myles Evangelista (he/they). Born to two kickass Filipino immigrants in Peoria, Illinois, Myles’s first musical love was the household’s MAGIC SING Karaoke Machine, which fostered in him a love of classic pop and rock by scoring him highly on Queen, ABBA, and Elton John songs. He further pursued his passion for music with classical piano, French Horn, electric bass, and acoustic guitar performance, and eventually, songwriting. Myles overlays his indie/alt-rock style music with lyrics that explore every corner of human emotion and dive deep into his perspective on love, heartbreak, and growing pains in the transgender experience. “mars hojilla” is so named firstly for Myles’s mother, who gave him her maiden name as a middle name, and secondly for the cashier at the I-80 Arby’s, who misheard his actual first name for a planet.