Lady Antebellum is back and thinking big
Their band, sound, even their families have grown
Lady Antebellum hit the pause button in 2016 for a much-needed hiatus. The country trio came back in 2017 with a fresh outlook, a reimagined sound, a new album, a bigger band, a more expansive stage and a creative connection as strong as their early days playing together.
The group wrapped the North American leg of its You Look Good World Tour at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Saturday night. Lady A’s Charles Kelley said the tour has exceeded the trio’s expectations. The break, he said, was one of the best decisions the group has ever made.
“There was a little bit of fatigue, listener fatigue, fan fatigue, especially around (Nashville),” Kelley said. “I could just feel it. It was like we’d been given so much and had so much support early, people were like, ‘We’re ready to rally behind the next generation of artists.’ I feel like the town and the fans are kind of rooting for us again. It’s fun for us to be in that position.”
Their return began at a rented house in Florida near the end of 2016. Lady Antebellum members Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott moved in together for about a month to rekindle their collective creativity. Haywood would make breakfast, the trio would write songs and, as the day stretched into night, the friends would enjoy cocktails and sit up talking until the wee hours of the morning.
While they were in Florida, Haywood said the three of them wrote Heart Break, Big Love in a Small Town and This City — songs that became the genesis for the group’s sixth album, also called Heart Break, which was released in June.
“I was like, ‘OK, it feels like we’re making a body of work here, like we’re making something great as opposed to just piecing together songs,’ ” Haywood said.
While recording Heart Break, Lady Antebellum added a festive vibe to new song You Look Good with the incorporation of a horn section. When the song became their first single, members thought performing You Look Good with the horns on the Academy of Country Music Awards could become a show highlight.
The response was so overwhelming the group decided over dinner that night to add a horn section to their touring band.
“I don’t think we can ever go backwards with having horns,” Haywood said. “We’re going to have them forever now.”
The trio has incorporated the players into about eight of the 20 songs in the set, including Love Don’t Live Here and Downtown. It also means their backing band is so large the trio has been bumped out of the largest dressing room in the venues they headline to accommodate their players.
The band isn’t the only group that’s growing. When Lady Antebellum went back out on the road
I feel like the town and the fans are kind of rooting for us again. It’s fun for us to be in that position.”
Charles Kelley, on the band’s return
this year, they did so with three children in tow. Over the past four years, Scott, Kelley and Haywood all became first-time parents. By February, the number of children on tour will double. Haywood’s wife, Kelli, is due to deliver their daughter in December, and Scott’s twins are due in February.
They band says the newest additions won’t keep them off the road next summer — they hope to do another big tour. Scott told Haywood and Kelley she’s up for the challenge, and Kelley has no doubt they can make it work.
“It’s fun when (the kids are) all there,” Kelley said. “We end up filling up a couple of baby pools outside. It’s fun, but it’s different. You have to put them to bed and then flip that switch and turn into a rock star.”