(Photo : Sony Nashville)
Sara Evans - Slow Me Down
When Sara Evans held the CD release party for her seventh studio album, Slow Me Down, she didn't stick to the norm and invite a bunch of industry insiders and media. Instead, the lady of country took it to her new home, Birmingham, Alabama and threw a shindig for anyone who wanted to join her. Held at Iron City, a venue that holds 1300, Sara took the money from the ticket sales and donated it to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Alabama, and Alabama Forever. A total of $40,000 went to the three organizations.

During the show, fans were treated to the new tunes as well as past hits including "Born to Fly" and "Suds In The Bucket." In the midst of it all, radio personality Buzz Brainard interviewed her for a SIRIUS/XM special.

In the middle of the show, Sara got a big surprise when the honorable Mayor William Bell came up on stage and presented her with a key to the city in recognition of her charity work.

Before the show, during an interview with Great American Country, Sara talked about the decision to make Birmingham home, saying, "We had talked about maybe doing a dual residence and going back and forth between Nashville and Birmingham. Then when we were engaged we got into softball and baseball season – and Jay had something every single night because his kids are all athletes and so are mine. I remember I was at the ball park in Franklin (Tennessee) and he was at the ball park in Birmingham – and I just thought, ‘We will never see each other. This is ridiculous. And I can’t ask him to leave his children – nor would I and nor would he – so I just thought, ‘I can do my career from 2 ½ hours away. It’ll take a little bit more planning, but I’m on the road all the time anyway.’ So we came down here and it just felt completely normal."

And normal it has become. As Sara, Jay and their seven kids have made Birmingham home, Birmingham has made sure they have been welcomed with open arms. And if the crowd response to the CD release party is any indication, they're now favored residents of the city.

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