Even though Sara woke up this morning with a sore throat, the "show must go on!"

As she gears up for her Eureka, California tour tonight, Sara shares with us, via her Twitter, a picture of the venue.

AZCentral.com
Country singer Sara Evans, who weathered a bitter divorce that forced her to quit her top-three run on TV's "Dancing With the Stars" and put her singing career largely on hold, couldn't sound happier about celebrating a fresh start with a holiday concert tour.



"I feel like I'm just beginning now," says Evans, who has a new husband, former Alabama football star Jay Barker, a blended family of seven children and a comeback album in the works.

"I'm out of my bad marriage, so in love and happy and settled now that I feel like I can really focus on my career without being pulled away from it and having the stress from my personal life."

Evans, who performs in Mesa on Wednesday, Dec. 9, says she needed a few years to steer clear of Nashville and country radio as she recovered from a 2007 divorce that landed her in the tabloids based on tawdry accusations from both sides.

""It feels like another life. God was so protective over me, allowing me to meet Jay so soon," says Evans, 38, who has scored hits with her soaring voice and such songs as "Born to Fly," "Suds in the Bucket" and "A Real Fine Place to Start."

"We met a year after my separation and fell head-over-heels in love. We both feel grateful for that."

When she's not at home in Birmingham with Barker, a Crimson Tide star who Evans says gets treated "like Elvis" everywhere he goes, the singer has three siblings in her band to lend support.

"My brother, Matt, has always been in my band (on bass) and is my No. 1, right-hand guy musically," says Evans, who was named top female vocalist in 2006 by the Academy of Country Music.

"The girls, Lesley and Ashley, started coming out about three years ago, when I was going through my divorce. I just told them that I needed them out there with me. So they graciously said they would do it (sing harmony) and then kind of got addicted to it, like we all do."

This outing marks the first holiday-themed tour for Evans, who also has a new, four-song EP called "I'll Be Home For Christmas."

Seeking a fresh spin on seasonal classics for the concerts, which also will feature some of Evans' country hits, was just as tough as writing songs for the radio, she says.

"It was a huge challenge to arrange these Christmas songs," Evans says. "We wanted them to be different. We tried to find (new) chord progressions and different harmony vocals and arrangements."

Evans, who says she loves the holidays, helped set her family's Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving, before taking off on her 12-city tour.

"We have so many kids, and my whole goal is to make their memories awesome. I love to cook, put on Christmas music, have a fire lit, the whole deal, because it's only once a year."

After her holiday tour, Evans will wrap up work on an album aimed at putting her back on country radio in 2010.

One prominent country-radio host in Phoenix, Tim Hattrick of KMLE-FM (107.9), says Evans' fans understand what she has been through and are ready to welcome her back.

"When you're a genuine talent, with that strong voice that she has, it's easier to come back," says Hattrick, co-host of the Tim & Willy morning show.

"She wasn't a garden-variety star of the month. I'd stack her up with the Trisha Yearwoods and Carrie Underwoods of today."

Although Evans also is dabbling in writing, with a debut novel called "Sweet By and By" due Jan. 14, she says nothing will take a back seat in 2010 to her holiday tour and comeback album.

"The music aspect of my career is the anchor. It's the central part," she says.

"I need to not lose that focus."

The Greeley Tribune
Greeley, CO -- It always seems to take Sara Evans a long time to make a record.

Just not this long.

She's scratched away at the piano, writing songs and recording tracks. She released a single back in July — or her management did, without any support, causing her to finally fire the firm after a dozen years. She's felt immense pressure, maybe more than she's ever felt in her life.

Before this mini-crisis, she was one of the darlings of country music, with awards, including the Academy of Country Music's female vocalist of the year, and of the five albums she's released, one went gold and three were platinum, including her last, 2005's “Real Fine Place.” Now she not only hopes to match that success, she wants to exceed it. Her career, she believes, depends on it.

“I don't want to release it until I have the right songs,” she said in a phone interview. “It can't just be a good record. It has to be THE Sara Evans record. The way radio is, it can't be something they feel obligated to play just because I'm Sara Evans.”

After all that, a little tour singing Christmas carols sounded pretty nice. That's partly the reason for this “Celebrates the Season” tour, a 12-show romp around the West that mixes her hits with holiday favorites and includes a stop at the Union Colony Civic Center on Dec. 14. Some of those hits are religious holiday songs, others are dramatic (including a version of “The Little Drummer Boy”) and some are just upbeat and happy. She also released a four-song holiday digital album to go with the tour.

“I really thought it would make me feel great to do this show,” Evans said. “I'll sing some other songs and think about Christmas and what that means.”

Evans could use a little of that. Her personal life is back in order after getting remarried, but she split with her management, mostly after what happened with her latest single, “Feels Just Like A Love Song,” released in August. The single didn't flop but didn't meet her usual standards of success — she has several No. 1 singles — and she attributes that to its limp promotion.

“We threw out a single before there was any good preparation for it,” Evans said. “I was very upset about that.”

Evans welcomes the challenge the single brought her, however. She thought the song was good, she said, but not incredible.

“There's no reason why that single should not have succeeded,” Evans said, “but it also made me take a harder look at myself. That's the reason why this album is taking longer.

“I just want great songs. We have some already, but it's putting those last six or seven songs together.”

Despite the pressure, Evans is feeling good about her overall career. She just wrote a book with Rachel Hauck, and her fans might be surprised to learn it's a fiction novel.

“It's loosely based on my life, but it's fiction,” Evans said. “I never imagined I would write a book. It made me feel good and confident.”

Evans will go back to recording and writing and trying to find great songs once the tour's over, but for now, she can relax and think about Christmas.

“You're usually just singing your hits, but this lets my fans hear a side of me they don't normally see,” Evans said, “and, you know, it's fun for me, too.”

Boise, Idaho -- Friday, November 27th, Sara will initiate her 'Celebrate the Season' tour! The Idaho Press-Tribune called her up for an interview and wrote a very nice article promoting the concert. Check out the interview below!

Ever wonder how Sara rehearses for her concerts? Hark! Here's a video!