Country star Sara Evans praises Mountain Brook in new memoir

Country singer Sara Evans, a former Mountain Brook resident, is a big star, to say the least.

A Missouri native known for her insightful songwriting and strong voice, Evans 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.

She was once named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People.

And most recently, in September, Evans published her memoir, “Born To Fly” through Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

In the book, Evans shares stories about her life, her music career and living in the spotlight, as well as her Christian faith.

She also spends a chunk of “Born to Fly” talking 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 star.

“Mountain Brook has been an amazing little idyllic place to raise my kids,” Evans wrote in her book.

Recently, Evans talked to Village Living about why she and Barker love Mountain Brook and are still drawn to its special charm.

The star vocalist also said that, even after her 2019 move back to Nashville to be closer to the music business, she and Barker miss Mountain Brook and want to reestablish a presence here.

Evans’ life in Mountain Brook came about after she met Barker in 2007.

Barker was a former University of Alabama quarterback who led the Crimson Tide to a national championship in 1992 and was in the midst of a successful career in radio.

Both Evans and Barker had gone through tough divorces. Evans’ divorce had been particularly nasty and very public.

Evans and Barker met after being introduced by a mutual friend — minister Joe Beam — and it didn’t take long for romance to blossom. The couple got married in Tennessee in 2008.

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, right across from the fields at Crestline Elementary School.

Evans said Mountain Brook is an “amazing” place to live and raise children, especially Crestline.

The country star also 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.”

Even just walking across the street to drop the kids at CES in the morning was “awesome,” Evans said.

“Mountain Brook is a really cool place full of people who really care about each other and really care about the community,” she said.

In her book, Evans wrote 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 in our interview. “Everything was brand-new: our home, my husband, my stepchildren, my home.”

In addition, she and Barker had “moved very quickly” from their initial meeting in 2007 to marriage a year later. “It was all a fantasy,” she said.

The atmosphere of Mountain Brook contributed to that.

“You drive around Mountain Brook and you think, ‘Wow, this is such a special space — the way it was built, the old trees. It has that Southern charm.”

Evans recalled some of her favorite spots for dining and shopping.

“Crestline Pharmacy was myfavorite store in Crestline, becausethey have everything,” she said. “ThePig [Piggly Wiggly] was always afavorite spot.”

She said she and the kids would goto the Chevron station after schoolfor an Icee or a fountain soda.

Evans also gave shout-outs to Gus’s Hot Dogs, Zoe’s and Otey’s Tavern.

The couple eventually lived in three homes in Mountain Brook. After leaving Elm Street, they lived on Montevallo Road.

“Then we decided to spread out a little bit and have a little more space,” Evans said. “We were not in Crestline Elementary anymore, so we bought a place close to the high school.”

In the book, Evans wrote, “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.”

The couple had problems with their contractor, Evans said, and the remodel was not a pleasant experience.

In July 2019, Evans and her family moved back to Nashville, drawn by the ease of conducting her career in music back in the 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, really miss Mountain Brook.”

In fact, Evans said she and Barker had spent an entire weekend in late August talking about how they could find a second home in Mountain Brook.

“That is our goal — downsize a little bit and find a small house in Mountain Brook,” she said. “That is my kids’ home. We are never leaving for good. We definitely want to continue having a presence in Mountain Brook.”

“We haven’t left Mountain Brook,” Evans said. “We plan on always having a home there. It has been a true blessing to our family.”

For more information, go to saraevans.com.