Photo courtesy of LOWFIELD Photography.
Previously named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” Sara Evans in September published her memoir, “Born To Fly.”
Country singer Sara Evans is a big star, to say the least.
The Missouri native, known for her insightful songwriting and strong voice, has released nine studio albums, notched five No.1 country singles and is the fifth most-played female artist in country radio the last two decades.
Her 2017 album “Words” — the first on her own Born to Fly Records label — was called one of the best country albums of the year by Billboard and Rolling Stone. Evans has received accolades from the Academy of Country Music, the American Music Awards and the Grammy Awards.
Her newest album, “Copy That,” was released in May and opened at No. 1 on the iTunes Country chart.
Once named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” Evans published her memoir, “Born To Fly” in September through Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. In the book, she shares stories about her life, music career, living in the spotlight and her Christian faith.
She also spends a portion of the book writing about the 11 years she spent living in Mountain Brook with her husband, Jay Barker, the sports radio personality and former Alabama Crimson Tide football quarterback, and why they are still drawn to its special charm.
Evans’ life in Mountain Brook came about after she met Barker in 2007. The two were introduced by a mutual friend, minister Joe Beam, and it didn't take long for romance to blossom. They were married in Tennessee in 2008.
Barker was a former University of Alabama quarterback and was in the midst of a successful career in radio. They had both gone through tough divorces. She had three kids from her first marriage: son Avery Jack and daughters Olivia Margaret and Audrey Elizabeth. Barker had four kids: Andrew, Braxton, Sarah Ashlee and Harrison. They created a new combined family, though Barker’s kids lived primarily with their mother in Hoover.
Just before their honeymoon, the couple bought a home with four bedrooms and about 3,600 square feet on Elm Street in Mountain Brook, right across from the fields at Crestline Elementary School. Evans said she very quickly felt at home in the community thanks to the hospitality she and Barker were shown.
“The people are so friendly, and I could not have felt more loved instantly when we moved in,” she said. “We got hundreds of cards and baked goods dropped on our doorstep. ‘Welcome to our neighborhood,’ they said. It was amazing.”
In the book, Evans said that it felt like a fairy tale when she and Barker moved to Mountain Brook.
“I think it was the combination that we were newlyweds and newly in love,” she said. “Everything was brand-new: our home, my husband, my stepchildren, my home.”
In the book, Evans writes, “Jay and I decided … that we wanted to be adventurous and find a ’60s ranch-style home in Mountain Brook and gut it and remodel it.”
She called it the “worst decision” of her life, she writes in her book. “Well, not the worst, but probably in the top 10.”
In July 2019, Evans and her family moved back to Nashville, drawn by the ease of conducting her career in music back in the country music capital.
For example, in recording “Copy That,” Evans said she “could just wake up and drive across town to the studio and not figure out how to bus up from Birmingham.”
Evans lives in Nashville full-time. Barker spends part of his time in Nashville but lives primarily in Birmingham due to his responsibilities hosting his radio show, Evans said.
Despite the advantages of Nashville for Evans’ career, she said she and Barker really miss Mountain Brook and have talked about how they could find a second home there.
For more information, go to saraevans.com.
