Sara Evans Makes Music a Family Affair

For Sara Evans, talent seems to run in the family. The singer, whose upcoming holiday album 'At Christmas' includes her two daughters, says her children seem eager to follow in her footsteps -- at least some of them.

“Olivia and Audrey, they’re 10 and 11, they sing with me. I’m already putting them to work!" Evans told The Boot during CMA Awards week, adding that she is thrilled with their participation.

"I was singing in bars when I was 10 years old, I really was, with my brothers and our band, so why shouldn't they?" she adds. "They were excited. They were, like, champing at the bit."

The songstress says her 15-year-old son, Avery, is also musically gifted, but excels at sports as well, making his career path a difficult choice.

“My son plays football and baseball, and he’s actually a great athlete, and he also plays guitar, drums," Evans boasts. "He’s a great musician, and actually, we just had a big, long talk ... about him maybe having to make a choice between sports and music because sports takes up so much time, and he wants to be a guitar player. He wants to be John Mayer, and so he has to work at it, work at his craft."

The 43-year-old, who is married to former football player and sportscaster Jay Barker, insists she would encourage her children to be professional musicians if it was what they really wanted.

"I think music is something that you do because you have a passion for it, because you love it. It's hard, and I would definitely know how to advise them, and things to warn them about and stuff," Evans says. "But it’s something that you pursue because of passion and love, and especially if you’re gifted at it, and so I would definitely support that."

Having a musician and an athlete in the family gives Evans' children, including her four step-children, a well-rounded outlook on the future.

"I just know what it takes to try to make it in either athletics or in music or in acting or whatever, and it’s not easy, and it’s not for the faint of heart," she notes. "You’ve got to be thick-skinned, and you’ve got to have a huge work ethic, but you do have to devote yourself to it."

Order 'At Christmas' here.