While some students may worry about fitting hobbies in around classes and schoolwork, student singer-songwriter Evan Spooner plans to play more open mic nights after the semester starts.

Over the summer, he hasn’t played many due to working a lot of closing shifts at Books-A-Million in Perrysburg. During school, he plans to play every Monday, Wednesday and possibly Friday at events such as Caf é Havana’s open mic night and the Hump Day Revue at The Stones Throw.

His first open mic night of the semester will be Aug. 25 at Cafe Havana.

In addition to a new schedule allowing for more open mic nights, the stress of the final year of an Integrated Language Arts degree means Spooner will be playing more to relax.

“Music kind of helps me destress,” he said. “It helps me unwind, whether it’s listening or playing.”

He’ll take breaks from schoolwork to play guitar and see if any lyrics come to him.

“Usually songwriting isn’t a process for me,” Spooner said. A few lyrics will come to him and after the song comes together, “I just kind of let it sit and decide if I like it.”

The non-process seems to work.

Spooner is “extremely competent” in his songwriting, said Tom Imondi, who runs Café Havana’s open mic night.

His songs cover a “large journey,” Imondi said, and “unlike most songwriters his age who do that, he knows how to make it a cohesive whole.”

Tom Cadaret, who also plays at local open mic nights, praised Spooner’s songwriting as well.

“His lyrical content is just spot-on,” Cadaret said.

Spooner knows how to create images with his lyrics, Imondi said.

“He writes like somebody with his major,” Imondi said.

Spooner describes his sound as singer-songwriter and blues.

He has “a little bit more of a blues base than a lot of singer-songwriters,” Imondi said.

His music can also be more upbeat.

It’s “acoustic, but kind of poppy or energetic,” Cadaret said. The energy makes for good shows with “positive emotions.”

Some day he could be putting on shows at bigger venues.

Spooner could go far, Imondi said. His desire is what will determine how successful he becomes.

For now, Spooner seems content.

“Honestly, music is just kind of a hobby,” he said, though “I’d love to become a famous musician. I guess that’s the dream.”

The dream could be come reality, Imondi said. Imondi lived in Los Angelos for a decade and is familiar with the music scene there as well as Ohio’s. Spooner is among the best musicians Imondi has become familiar with.

“He stands out to me as one of the top five in terms of his potential,” Imondi said.