During her teenage years, Evans and her older brother Matt formed their own band before moving to Nashville in 1991 to pursue a country music career.

The discs sold over one million copies each and included the number one country singles "Born to Fly", "Suds in the Bucket" and "A Real Fine Place to Start".

To make ends meet, her mother became a school bus driver while her father became a pressman for the Columbia Daily Tribune newspaper.

[17] When she was about ten years old, Evans recorded a song called "I'm Gonna Be the Only Female Fiddle Player in Charlie Daniels Band".

[18] Evans later performed on a local program called Country Stampede and briefly formed a band with her brother Matt.

Her demo was heard by Nashville songwriter Harlan Howard who was impressed by Evans's traditional country singing style.

[29] Allmusic's James Chrispell positively commented, "This disc rings out with an air of originality helped along by great tunes and solid backup musicianship.

[36] The album's final single "Fool, I'm a Woman" only reached number 32 on the country songs chart,[4] which disappointed Evans.

[41] The disc became Evans's breakout album, certifying double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over two million copies in the United States.

[49] With her new success, Evans joined Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Jamie O'Neal, and Carolyn Dawn Johnson on the all-women headlining Girls Night Out Tour in 2001.

[58] Sue Keough of BBC called it "the perfect balance between radio-friendly country pop and the rootsy sounds she offered with her 1997 debut Three Chords And The Truth.

[70] The follow-up single, a cover of Rod Stewart's "My Heart Can't Tell You No", only reached number 21 on the Billboard country chart.

[85] Evans also sang the National Anthem at the start of Game 2 of the 2015 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets.

[95] In August 2015, Evans made a second appearance on CMT Crossroads, this time performing alongside rock band REO Speedwagon.

[104] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented that, "Words offers a sharp and welcome contrast to the bustling digital era.

The project featured harmonies from Evans and her children performing covers of songs by Aretha Franklin and Fleetwood Mac.

[119] Thom Jurek from AllMusic noted a similar theme while reviewing the disc: "Born to Fly emphasizes the more contemporary sounds on the recording, while placing some of the rootsy bluegrass back in the mix.

Writer Jacquilynne Schlesier found Evans to be a "natural choice to lead the parade" considering the acclaim she received from her debut album.

Reflecting on her current musical style, Evans commented, "For the first time in my career, I felt like I didn't have to stay in any certain genre".

[124] When promoting her eleventh album Unbroke, Evans cited a desire to return to more traditional country sounds and lyrics.

AllMusic's John Bush described her as having "an instantly recognizable contralto"[1] while The Boot wrote, "Evans has built a hugely successful career on the strength of her song choices, as well as her readily identifiable voice.

[134] In court documents, Evans accused Schelske of unemployment, alcoholism, infidelity, watching adult entertainment with their children present, maintaining sexually explicit photographs of himself and others, and verbal abuse.

Schelske also claimed that his explicit photograph collection was limited to images of the married couple, and counterclaimed that Evans had numerous personal problems.

for "slander, false light and other damages" after Hollins gave an October 2006 interview to People magazine regarding Evans' divorce claims.

That lawsuit resulted in an undisclosed financial settlement and a written apology from Hollins in 2011, which stated in part: "My firm and I represented Sara Evans in a highly contested divorce from Craig Schelske... to the best of my ability.

Schelske issued a public statement thanking God, family, and friends for staying alongside during the period, and stating: "Sara is not my enemy... Hollins... he's the one who did this.

The arrest affidavit has the couple listed as separated,[149] and that Evans had filed for divorce prior to the incident in August 2021, citing "irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct".

[150] Barker responded on social media to his arrest claiming that the reports "do not adequately capture the full context and complex fabric of our lives".

Evans expressed anxiety around how people would view her getting back together with Barker and stressed that her decision to stay with him was not meant as a prescription for any relationship facing similar circumstances.

Evans found solace in her Christian faith and began working with a pastor who helped her gain control of her mental health.