Sara Evans to perform at Sycuan

Over the last two decades, Sara Evans has earned recog­nition as the fifth most played female artist on country radio with her durable hits “Suds in the Bucket,” “A Real Fine Place to Start,” “Perfect,” and “A Little Bit Stronger.” Evans is bringing her classic hits, cov­ers, and songs from her newest album “Unbroke” to Sycuan Ca­sino + Resort’s Live & Up Close on Sept. 20.

In a Q&A with Evans, the singer, songwriter, Evans said she is looking forward to her up­coming performance at Sycuan.

Evans’ new album “Unbroke” is now out, and Evans said she is “incredibly proud” of the al­bum for many reasons.

“It’s truly the most honest I’ve ever been with a project, and I co-wrote 10 of the 11 songs, which I’ve never done before,” she said. “I started writing “Un­broke” in the darkest part of my life and the album originally was going to have a much heavi­er overall tone. Over the course of the 2 years, I took to write and record the album, some massive changes happened in my life, and I went from the darkest point to honestly one of the happiest times in my life. I like to say that “Unbroke” takes you on a journey from a break­down to a breakthrough. I was honored to co-produce the proj­ect with the incredible Jeff Trott who helped write many of the songs, and also helped me dial in the sonic vision for the proj­ect. Jeff is just incredible, and I knew him from his work with Sheryl Crow – who is a friend and someone I admire so much musically. The song “Unbroke” and the choice to name the al­bum after that song, is due to the double meaning of the lyr­ics. Nobody gets through life unbroke, but my marriage and family is now unbroke.

Evans said she loves perform­ing in San Diego.

“Every single time I have performed there the crowds are just incredible and so welcom­ing. There is such a great en­ergy in the air, and I am always relaxed for some reason when I am in town,” she said.

Evans said as much as she tours, she loves to give her fans something new from tour to tour.

“We will definitely be playing several of the new songs from ‘Unbroke,’ but also all of the hits of course, and some fun wild­card covers to mix it all up,” she said. “I like to consider myself a part-time stand-up comedian, at least in my shows, and love to tell jokes and just engage the crowd. It is always a challenge for me each night to try and win over every single person in the room. Whether they have been to 100 shows, or this is their first.

Evans said you never know what she “might pull out of her hat,” during a performance, so there could very well be some surprises for her fans.

With her daughter in the vid­eo from her song “Pride,” she said this song in particular, has a special meaning for her, and

her daughter’s participation was part of this experience.

“Pride” is obviously such a heavy and powerful song. It was not easy to write and was not easy to record. But I needed to release it not only for myself, but for anyone else who might be going through a similar situ­ation,” she said. “Actually, the director of the music video – Peter Zavadil – and I both had the idea of having my young­est daughter Audrey appear in the video. We look so much alike and she kind of played a younger fictionalized version of me. Audrey has so many talents and gifts but had never really acted before. She was nervous but you would never know it. She honestly blew us all away that day with how good she was. I still get chills when I watch her in the video and am a very proud momma.”

Evans said over her career, her music styles have changed mostly because she does not lis­ten to one genre of music.

“That has been true my entire life. Of course, I grew up listen­ing to and performing country and bluegrass music, but I also covered so many of the pop and rock tunes that were popular at the time,” she said. “My influ­ences run the gamut from Patsy Cline to REO Speedwagon to Belinda Carlisle to The Eagles. I always say that a great sing­er can sing anything, no mat­ter what the genre, and I like to bring a little bit of that ver­satility and variety to the live shows and my albums. My cur­rent album “Unbroke,” is very much in the Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Daisy Jones and Six lane. It is a little different than anything I have released, but still has that sig­nature “Sara Evans sound” that ties it all together.

“Diving in Deep with Sara Ev­ans” is a podcast that she just launched this year.

“I am so glad you asked about that! I am a huge lover of pod­casts and listen probably more than I should. I have always loved talking with people and telling stories, so the long form format of a podcast was call­ing my name,” she said. “We launched in March of this year, and it has been so much fun! Not only do I do episodes telling stories about my life and giving fans a peek behind the curtain, but we have guests on often too and I get to hear their stories and find commonalities (or dif­ferences) between us. So far, we have had people on like Martina McBride, Dennis Quaid, Josh Turner, Bobby Bones, and more. If you have not already checked it out, I would love for you to go listen wherever podcasts are streamed, or you can find the video version on my YouTube channel. We have some exciting special guests booked through­out the rest of the year so stay tuned for those surprises.”

Evans said she is “incredibly grateful to be doing what she loves and bringing her music to her fans around the world.

“I always say that we get paid to travel, and the performing is what we do for the love of it. I cannot wait for the show and to see my San Diego fans and friends,” she said.

Tickets are now on sale for Evan’s concert at www.sycuan. com. For more information about Evans, her tour, and her newest album “Unbroke,” visit www.saraevans.com.