It had all the makings of an explosive night as downtown Denver celebrated America’s 233rd birthday. Fireworks, miniature red, white and blue flags, roller coasters, beer ... and Sara Evans.
Then the rains came.
But that didn’t stop Evans, one of country-pop music’s dream queens from the past decade who recently hasn’t been the force she was while competing with the likes of Shania Twain and Faith Hill for No. 1 dominance on the charts a few years back.
Of course, there are several reasons why Evans has been low-profiling it since 2006, when she began going through a very public and very nasty divorce that not only created chaos in her life but interrupted her singing career (not to mention a chance to keep competing on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars).
So that slow climb back to the top has her playing in venues such as Elitch Arena, an open-air facility with metal bleacher seating on the grounds of Elitch Gardens, where musicians compete with the sounds of roller coasters and other nearby thrill rides. The concert was free with the price of admission to the amusement park.
None of that mattered, though, to Evans, who treated the wet and tired but enthusiastic crowd like they were Ryman royalty. Once the thunderstorms stopped and all the onstage puddles were soaked up, the RCA Nashville platinum-selling artist and her eight-member band (including brother Matt on bass and sisters Ashley and Lesley on backup vocals) put on an entertaining show that was made in the USA with tender-loving care.
Opening with “Desperately,” a tune unrecognized by many of her loyal fans from back in the heyday, Evans quickly moved onto familiar ground with two of her biggest hits, “Perfect” and “A Real Fine Place To Start.”
“I’ve got a brand new album coming out later on this year, and if it’s all right with you, we’re going to do several new songs tonight,” Evans, during her first break in the action, said before launching into “Anywhere.”
Evans looked tanned, rested and fit as a country fiddle. She wore an all-black ensemble with a revealing blouse and tight jeans that showed off her toned calves. The former member of People magazine’s "50 Most Beautiful" list was sporting a fabulous new ’do, too, a sexy, angled cut that might send a jealous Kate Gosselin back to the stylist.
Remarried to former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker in June 2008, life these days in Birmingham, Ala., apparently agrees with the 38-year-old singer-songwriter who grew up on a farm in Missouri, the oldest girl in a family of seven children. Her new home might be only 180 miles away from Nashville, but it’s light years removed from the hectic pace and pressures of the Music City, where Evans first arrived in 1991.
Article comments
1 - Countrymile
Thank heavens, indeed. Despite all the tabloid drama, I sill enjoy Sara's music and her natural talent. She seems genuine and deserves to rank at the top, looking down at today's young pretenders to the throne. Really looking forward to the new album.