Throughout a fertile decade-and-a-half worth of studio recordings, songwriting, worship leading, vocal arranging, touring, acting, and most recently, becoming an author, Anthony Evans’ creative pursuits have maintained an unflinching authenticity. Yet for all the times he rode high atop the gospel charts, crossed over into pop, worked on Grammy-winning projects, stepped out on the world’s most hallowed stages such as the Hollywood Bowl and even won the ear of Christina Aguilera for a remarkable run on NBC’s “The Voice,” the multi-faceted artist was perpetually in the process of finding an inner spiritual and personal peace.

After some serious soul-searching, sparked by the challenging but cathartic experience of writing his highly-anticipated memoir, Unexpected Places: Thoughts On God, Faith, And Finding Your Voice, Evans finally reached that point of shifting his perspective toward true inner peace. This is further reflected throughout his aptly named 2019 album, Altared (releasing May 17 on Sherman James Productions). And in keeping with his tradition of putting a clever twist on a theme, the title also refers to the fact that several of the songs are completely re-worked covers. These, along with a handful of heartfelt originals, are integral to shaping what’s sure to be a landmark season.

Evans: “If I would’ve given up in prior moments that seemed inconsequential, I wouldn’t have been ready for this particular moment, so that was a huge blessing. That’s the same way it relates to my career and opportunities. It came from being faithful in the little, and eventually a lot will come out of the future moments. I don’t mean a lot in the sense of Hollywood. I mean a lot in the sense of impacting people’s lives.”