See Sara Evans Cover Walk the Moon’s ‘Shut Up and Dance’
Walk the Moon’s new-wave inspired “Shut Up and Dance” is — like Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” — one of those undeniable smashes that manages to unite disparate groups of people. It’s no shocker then that numerous covers of the song followed in its wake, with treatments ranging from dance pop to bluegrass.
Still, it is a tiny bit surprising to hear and see the more traditional Sara Evans pull off a straightforward rendition of “Shut Up and Dance.” In the video above, Evans’ capable road band retains the shimmering guitar, neon synthesizer and disco-inspired groove of Walk the Moon’s original, while her vocals add a touch of sweetness to the proceedings. Though it’s not “Suds in the Bucket” or “A Real Fine Place to Start,” Evans and her band gleefully rip through it like it belongs to them.
In addition to her cover of “Shut Up and Dance,” Evans started playing Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” while on tour in 2015. Live versions of both are available for purchase on iTunes. Earlier in the fall, Evans kept this cross-genre streak alive with her CMT Crossroads episode with Eighties rockers REO Speedwagon.
Outside of these intriguing live cover releases, Evans has been relatively quiet in 2015 as far as new music goes. Her most recent single “Put My Heart Down” (from the album Slow Me Down) appeared in 2014 and was recorded as a duet for an episode of ABC’s Nashville. In late October, Evans sang the national anthem before a World Series game between the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals.