HEATHER EVANS is one of the most accomplished songwriters you’ve probably never heard of. Her music has been played on the radio, featured on CNN and appeared in commercials for Mitsubishi and Powerplant Studios. She’s performed the national anthem at a rally for former President Barrack Obama, opened for bands like Sixpence None The Richer and Andrew Belle, and several songs from her first album Impatient Heart (recorded when she was just 17) were featured on MTV’s Laguna Beach.

But two years ago Evans put away her guitar and packed up her suitcase as she and her family—husband, Brett, and two kids, Trust and Story, moved from Columbus, Ohio to Sacramento, Calif. The Evans made the move to be closer to family, but it was a difficult transition. “It didn’t go exactly as planned and it was difficult at times,” Evans said. “We all lived in a house with my sister and brother-in-law until my husband found a job and for a while we were really just living on faith and hope that it would all work out.” When things eventually settled down, Evans was ready to get back to her music, but it had been a long time since she’d exercised those creative muscles and it took some getting used to. “It was so hard,” Evans said. “For a second I thought I’d just quit music. I didn’t know where to start and I didn’t know if anyone would listen to what I had to say. In Columbus, I really took for granted how connected I was. I knew the venues, musicians and promoters, but here I had to start from scratch and build relationships again. “I played a few open mics and got invited back, and then was asked to play at church. I started to make connections with people and things started to pick up.” Among the connections Evans made was guitarist and producer Jeffrey Kunde of Jesus Culture and engineer Jeremy Edwardson (Kim Walker, Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith), who agreed to help her produce a three-song EP at The Sound house in Redding, Calif. “The songs on the EP are really about my current stage of life—motherhood, marriage and my family,” Evans said. “I can hear these songs on pop radio or maybe in a TV show or movie. They are very relatable and I think people will really be able to connect with these songs."