Country star Sara Evans coming to Greensburg as part of Blue Christmas tour
Sara Evans will come to the Palace Theater in Greensburg tonight as part of her Blue Christmas Tour.
Sara Evans will come to the Palace Theater in Greensburg tonight as part of her Blue Christmas Tour.
Sara Evans will come to the Palace Theater in Greensburg tonight as part of her Blue Christmas Tour.
Kristin Barlowe
Sara Evans will come to the Palace Theater in Greensburg tonight as part of her Blue Christmas Tour.
Country music star Sara Evans has a career that has endured over 20 years, and she will be making a stop in Greensburg tonight as part of her Christmas tour.
Evans said this is the 10th year that she has been doing a Christmas tour, but this year they鈥檝e changed some things up a bit, adding seven new songs and performances with her family.
鈥淭he show is a mix of both cover songs and originals,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have one original that my friend Shane Stevens who鈥檚 a very successful pop song writer wrote for me called 鈥楢t Christmas.鈥� It鈥檚 the name of our Christmas album that came out about four years ago.鈥�
All three of her children are in the show, her brother is the bass player and her sister is Evans鈥� harmony singer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really, really fun show,鈥� she said.
Evans is originally from New Franklin, Missouri. She started singing with her family when she was 4 years old.
鈥淢y parents started booking us in bars and at wedding dances and rodeos and fairs and anywhere that we could perform, and then we sort of became celebrities in Missouri,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I was 19, I moved to Nashville and got my record deal with RCA in 1995 or 1996. My first number one was 鈥楴o Place that Far.'鈥�
Evans said her rise to notoriety was gradual.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 like just one day I woke up and said now I鈥檝e made it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think that I still wonder if I鈥檝e truly made it because you鈥檙e always looking for the next big thing 鈥� the next big hit record. The next big successful tour. The next big opportunity or some kind of TV show or endorsement.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sort of never ending for me, but I mean I gradually knew things were happening with first getting signed with RCA,鈥� she added. 鈥淎t the time, I鈥檇 been signed to the biggest record deal that had been given to an artist in years. It was a really big deal.鈥�
Her first album, 鈥淭hree Chords and the Truth鈥� 鈥� with more of a hillbilly, West coast type of sound 鈥� was more critically successful, but not really commercially successful.
鈥淲e went back in the studio to come more to the center of what country radio was wanting and that鈥檚 when we had 鈥楴o Place That Far鈥� and then things just kept growing and growing and growing,鈥� Evans said.
Singing at such a young age herself, it鈥檚 not surprising that her children are also musically inclined. Evans released an EP recently with them called the Barker Family Band, along with a live show version that鈥檚 available on iTunes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been so much fun,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淚 knew that my kids had the musical gift from the time that they were really, really little. They鈥檝e grown up on the road with me, they鈥檝e travelled in the tour bus their whole lives and so it鈥檚 a really natural progression for them to do what I do.鈥�
Her son Avery started playing guitar at 14 and before that, he was a drummer. Her middle child Olivia began singing.
鈥淪he鈥檚 fabulous,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淎nd then Audrey showed all the same interests in performing, except her interests are really more geared toward dancing and acting, although she can also sing.鈥�
Evans said the Barker Family Band project was done partly so that the fans could see what her kids have been up to.
鈥淲e made an EP and did a little tour,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he best part of it all is the live show that we released 鈥� The Barker Family Band Live at City Winery in Nashville.鈥�
The whole thing was recorded and put out exactly as it was, which included all of the talking in between songs.
Touring around the Christmas season is always special for Evans.
鈥淓verybody loves this time of year 鈥� It鈥檚 fun, it鈥檚 cozy, it鈥檚 nostalgic,鈥� she said. 鈥淐hristmas music makes you feel happy and sad at the same time, and I think it鈥檚 just that feeling that everyone gets. The year is winding down, and we鈥檙e about to go into a little time of hibernation and rest and relaxation and getting together with family, and for me, just thinking about what Christmas really means. As they say, it鈥檚 the most wonderful time of the year.鈥�
Evans shows no signs of slowing down any time soon with a big schedule ahead of her in 2020 including the release of her memoirs called 鈥淟ittle Bit Stronger鈥� and a new album some time in the spring.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really, really big deal,鈥� she said of the album. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say what it is because we鈥檙e waiting for the big release, but it鈥檚 different from anything I鈥檝e ever done in my whole career.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in the studio since August working on it, and it鈥檚 just been so much fun,鈥� Evans added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a really exciting year. The years that we release new albums are always the most fun.鈥�
鈥淭he Blue Christmas Tour鈥� is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at The Palace Theatre, 21 W Otterman St, Greensburg. Tickets are available at the door and start at $48.