Country star Sara Evans stays true to her roots

Raised on a tobacco farm in the tiny township New Franklin, Missouri, country singer-songwriter Sara Evans must be living out a dream.

New Franklin boasts a population of less than two thousand. It probably would have been easy for her to settle into a routine on the farm, find a ready husband among the dozens of men who no doubt fawned over the striking Evans, and raise a family, quietly out of the limelight. The little girl who played mandolin and sang with her brothers would find a comfortable spot, and play a modest role.

But such was not meant to be, and Evans’ near-fairy tale life, married now to Alabama quarterback hero Jay Barker and enjoying a massively successful music career, must seem a far cry from her humble roots.

In fact, critics dismissed her sophomore album, No Place That Far, for straying from the classic country sound she displayed on her debut, Three Chords and the Truth. But her staying power and clear vision of her artistry have won through, as Evans has placed three platinum and one gold album on the charts to date, and is headlining a tour that combines elements including television soap stars and fund raising for sick children.

The fact that each date on her current tour includes meet-and-greet sessions says volumes about the singer-songwriter, whose tracks have previously debuted in such rich surroundings as Cracker Barrel restaurants and Hallmark stores.

Nothing about Evans is contrived or disingenuous, and critics notwithstanding, she’s held strongly to her down-home roots, if occasionally straying from a traditional delivery. One shining example is her third single from her platinum album Restless, the number-one hit “Suds In the Bucket”, with a title which would lead one to believe yet another ode to beer was on tap. But by the first refrain the listener is well aware that the suds in question are those left behind by a young girl who’s abandoned the laundry line for a young prince in a pickup truck, and in the patois of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, has “r-u-n-n-o-f-t.”

It would be a surprise to learn that the tune is not more than a little autobiographical, and the story is so easy to identify with it’s become a part of the video games Karaoke Revolution Country and Rock Band: Country Track Pack.

Now Evans is looking forward to the release of the follow up to her 2007 Greatest Hits compilation, but in the meantime, she’s put some of her home cooking to work in romance novel co-written with Rachel Hauck, The Sweet By and By. As you’d expect, it’s a southern-fried work that balances love, family, and plenty of juicy complications.

But it’s no different for Evans herself, who recently had to rebuff allegations from an ex-husband that she’d had multiple affairs while they were married, including the accusation that she’d carried on with no fewer than four of the five members of rock band 3 Doors Down, Kenny Chesney, and Richard Marx.

However, you likely won’t find too many frowns from this country star, who seems to carry her sunny disposition and rough-and-ready wisdom wherever she goes. Though she was born to fly, one can’t help but feel she’s found herself in a real fine place.

Watch Sara Evans’ “Suds In the Bucket”