If the character of Rayna James (played by Connie Britton) in the TV show Nashville seemed pretty true to life, it was. Singer Sara Evans, who is a mom of three and step-mom to four (with husband, Jay Barker), reveals she met with the writers of Nashville, to help make the role of James – a mom on the road – as accurate as possible.
“The writers called and asked if I wanted to come up and spend a couple hours consulting them,” Evans reveals to CMT. “‘What’s it like to be a real-life Rayna Jaymes?’ And it was so fun because I just started talking and telling them the truth behind being a mom and being on the road.”
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While there were definitely fabrications in the night-time drama, Evans says there were plenty of similarities between Evans and the fictitious character.
“I related to her completely being a country music star,” Evans continues, “and then struggling with what’s happening in country music and the bro-country movement and just everything that it entails.”
At least one of Evans’ children, her oldest son, Avery, seems to be following in his mom’s footsteps. After spending part of the year playing in Evans’ band, as she headlined the CMT Next Women of Country Tour, Avery is auditioning for music programs in a couple of the country’s most-elite colleges – a true story that at least partially played out in Nashville.
“We talked about all the pressures that come along with trying to balance your life and trying to be a great mom and not being away from your kids too much but not miss out opportunities,” Evans reveals. “It was a counseling session for me. I think I ended up talking to them for like three hours. And I know they wrote some stuff based on what I told them.”
Evans wrote a song about Avery, “Letting You Go,” with Emily Shackleton and Victoria Banks, for her latest Words album.
“We just started talking about how fast it goes, and how sad it is,” Evans recalls to The Boot. “‘Oh my gosh, wasn’t I just brushing your hair?’ The chorus is trying to stay sane, like, I’m not going to overreact: ‘Loving you is holding you / Lifting you up and giving you wings.’ But then, in the second verse, it’s kind of angry — ‘Time is a liar‘ — because I remember people telling me, ‘It goes fast. It really does.’ And I used to think, ‘Yeah yeah.’ And it does, because I still think of Avery as my kindergartner.”
Nashville aired on ABC for four seasons, followed by CMT for the final two. The show will end with a series finale on June 7.
Evans will spend much of the summer on the road, performing her previous hits and songs from Words. A list of all of Evans’ upcoming shows can be found on her website.
Photo Credit: Instagram/saraevansmusic
