THE ARENA AT GWINNETT CENTER

Country singer Sara Evans hit headlines with her very public divorce last year, forcing her to pull out of ABC’s successful television show, “Dancing with the Stars.”

Now she’s hitting the stage, touring and promoting her latest album, “Real Fine Place.”

Evans is currently the reigning Top Female Vocalist of the Academy of Country Music, and she’s coming to the The Arena at Gwinnett Center 7:30 p.m. tonight.

“If you look at the demographics for country music fans, most live and work outside of Downtown Atlanta. With all of our lives getting busier, most people would rather have a short drive from their home and not feel rushed to attend a show,” said Chris Hendley, the Marketing and Media Advisor for the Arena.

“Country music fans are typically laid back, and we like to think that we are, too.”

Evans’ first album 1997 is “Three Chords and the Truth” garnered much critical praise, but it never found an audience.

It wasn’t until Evans’ 1998 duet with Vince Gill, “No Place That Far,” that she received her first number one single and gold album of the same name.

Since then, Evans has found success with such popular singles as “Born to Fly,” “Suds in the Bucket” and most recently, “A Real Fine Place to Start.”

“I am a huge country music fan, so I am biased toward it,” said Courtney Andrews, an advertising and spanish major who has been a fan of Evans since 1997.

“But I enjoy her music because the songs are always really good and because her voice is not augmented in any way with technology. She is real.”

After touring with Brad Paisley, Sugarland and Brooks and Dunn, Evans launched her current headlining tour, which continues traveling throughout the country until August. In between shows, Evans also will make appearances on Kenny Chesney’s upcoming tour, the Flip Flop Summer 2007 Tour.

Evans has become so established in the country music world that she already has a greatest hits album scheduled for release later in the year.

“She has a strong voice, and she sings like she really means what the lyrics are saying,” said Lauren Albert, a consumer economics major from Lawrenceville.

For students unfamiliar with the Arena, Hendley had some interesting information.

“We have 13,000 seats with 85 percent of the seats on the lower level,” he said. “There is seriously not a bad seat in the house.”

Hendley also said the Arena has free parking, a unique facet of the venue, and an incredible array of concession choices, including burritos, ice cream and beer and wine selections.

“I’ve seen Alan Jackson and Martina McBride there, and it was awesome,” said Brittany Burnham, a child and family development major from Monroe, who’s a fan of Evans and has also been to the Arena.

Evans fans don’t like her just because of her music. They also respect her due to her life choices and strength.

“How she’s handled her ongoing divorce with the media has been impressive,” Burnham said. “She’s kept herself collected and tried to keep it as quiet as she can.”