Together again

Hit-making country act Lady Antebellum happy to be back to the road with pal Darius Rucker

Ever since Lady Antebellum brought then-nascent country singer Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish fame as an opener on its 2010 “Need You Now” Tour, the two high-profile acts have been itching to hit the road together again.

That’s what’s happening this summer on the coheadlining “Summer Plays On” Tour, which includes a show July 20 at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls. Lady Antebellum guitarist Dave Haywood said he expects there to be plenty of shared moments on stage.

“Obviously, we’ve done a lot with Darius in the past,” said Haywood, calling from Nashville. “We sang on (Rucker hit) ‘Wagon Wheel,’ and (Lady Antebellum’s) Charles (Kelley) wrote (Rucker song) ‘Homegrown Honey.’ So we’re working on some special collaborations.”

Lady Antebellum is still touring in support of 2017 No. 1 effort “Heart Break,” which earlier this year received Grammy Award nominations for Best Country Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

The latter territory is nothing new for the platinum band, which has nine No. 1 hits to its credit. Sure, Haywood and company would have been thrilled to add another Grammy (or two) to its seven already sitting on a mantel, but after taking a two-year hiatus, the outfit was just happy to pick up where it left off.

“The biggest win for us is that we felt like coming off the break, we really reconnected again, kind of like the way we did when we started in 2006,” Haywood said. “That was the greatest achievement of that whole process. We moved in together and basically made a record sharing meals and late nights and recording songs and writing and laughing.

“It felt like we were kids again. We wanted to get back to just the three of us with no pressure and no schedule. So to get nominated, that was credibility for that process. We took that as a pat on the back that we were doing something right to reconnect again as a band.”

Playing a key role in that reconnect ion process was the album’s title track, which is a rising single on the country charts. The anthemic song about giving your heart a break coming out of a relationship creatively influenced the entire album.

Ironically, when Lady Antebellum came through Northeast Ohio in 2015 — supporting its previous album, “747” — singer Hillary Scott said, “When we were writing ‘Bartender,’ we were talking about how there are too many songs with men talking about [heartbreak], but how many songs are there with a female perspective?’”

So what is it about the notion of a heartbreak or heartbreak that fuels Lady Antebellum’s creative fire?

“We do write so much about love lost and love gained,” Haywood said. “That’s just always been kind of our ‘honey hole,’ as we call it. We love talking about that angst and nostalgia and a lost love and early love and first love. I think we’re all very sentimental people.”

“Heart Break” also promotes female empowerment at a time when women are standing up and letting the country hear them roar.

“I mean, we’re in a band called Lady Antebellum, so we’re all about supporting the female voice and supporting female empowerment,” Haywood said. “Just giving your heart a break is a bold statement for a female to make, and that’s empowering.

“I think that’s something very courageous for Hillary to sing about and very courageous and brave message to take to the fans.”

SUBMITTED Lady Antebellum is still out on the road in support of last year’s “Heart Break.”