It was a special night of music and surprises for everyone last Thursday night at the Ryman Auditorium, where country music star Sara Evans commemorated the 20th anniversary of her album Restless.
After welcoming the crowd to the sold-out celebration, Evans launched into the Restless album, in sequential order, telling stories and welcoming guests to the stage along the way. Lady A’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood joined for a powerful performance of “Tonight” and Grammy, CMA and ACM Award winner Carly Pearce capped the Restless album portion with a roof-raising rendition of the No. 1 smash, “Suds In The Bucket.”
After the song, Pearce called Kelley and Haywood back to the stage and welcomed Lady A’s Hillary Scott to surprise Evans with a Platinum Plaque for “Suds In The Bucket.”
But the fun was only beginning as Scott brought out Grand Ole Opry member and legend Bill Anderson who recalled seeing Evans in a small warehouse showcase where she performed songs from her forthcoming debut album, and one of the songs she recorded was “Walk Out Backwards,” a song he had written and recorded in the early 1960’s.
He then told Evans he had two questions for her. The first was if she could sing a bit of that song to which she immediately broke out in a verse and chorus of the vintage tune.
The second question was would she like to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, to which Evans tearfully and playfully said “No,” followed by “Of course, I would never say no to that question.” Afterwards he played a video message from another Opry great, Dolly Parton, congratulating her.
After gathering her emotions, Evans rounded out the evening’s show with seven additional hit songs including “No Place That Far,” “I Keep Looking” and “A Little Bit Stronger” with Hillary Scott, who co-wrote the song. Evans closed out the evening with her signature hit, “Born To Fly.”
L to R: Lady A's Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, Sara Evans, Lady A's Hillary Scott, Carly Pearce
Photo Credit: Andy Baxter
About Sara Evans:
Multi-platinum entertainer SARA EVANS is at the top of her game. As the fifth most-played female artist at country radio in nearly the last two decades — her five No. 1 singles include “No Place That Far,” “Suds In The Bucket, “A Real Fine Place To Start,” “Born to Fly,” and “A Little Bit Stronger,” which spent 2 weeks in the top spot and was certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. — Sara thrills audiences across the U.S. playing close to 100 shows each year. Sara’s “stunning, country voice” (Rolling Stone) has earned her the prestigious Academy of Country Music Top Female vocalist accolade as well as numerous American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Association, CMT and Grammy Awards nominations. In addition, the CMA awarded Video of the Year honors for her hit chart-topping single, "Born to Fly" from her double-platinum album of the same name. Evans’ discography also includes the platinum-selling studio albums Real Fine Place and Restless as well as the gold-certified projects Stronger and No Place That Far.
In addition to a prolific country music career, Sara has been honored for her philanthropic work and in 2018 was presented the NAB Education Foundation’s Service To America Leadership Award. A Red Cross ambassador, Sara received the national Crystal Cross award for her work with the disaster-relief organization and recently raised more than $10,000 for CMA Foundation and music education from the sale of her ONEHope Sara Evans Signature Series Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
For more information on Sara Evans, visit SaraEvans.com and engage with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.