Lady Antebellum works self-titled debut

April 17, 2008 10:04 AM
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
LiveDaily Contributor
As singer Charles Kelley tells it, fate played a hand in the formation of the fledgling country act Lady Antebellum [ tickets ].

Kelley--the brother of singer-songwriter Josh Kelley--and high school friend/singer/guitarist Dave Haywood grew up together in Augusta, GA, and started playing music in college.

"I moved to Nashville and talked him into quitting his job as an accountant and moving to Nashville," Kelley said with a laugh. "Shortly after that, we met Hillary and we started writing songs together and the group kind of developed out of a friendship."

The meeting of singer Hillary Scott, daughter of '90s country star Linda Davis, was the impetus for Lady Antebellum, whose song "Love Don't Live Here" is currently in the Top 10 of Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

"We were out at a little night spot in Nashville and she walked up and said, 'I know you from MySpace. I know your music,'" Kelley said. "She found out about me through my brother Josh. She was on his page. She checked me out. She said, 'I love what you're doing.'"

The two discussed writing songs and exchanged numbers. Three months later, Lady Antebellum was formed.

"We just had immediate chemistry between the three of us as a group," Kelley said. "It was just kind of an obvious thing, like we needed to do this together. It was a cool time. Definitely fate stepped in."

The band's self-titled debut was released Tuesday (4/15), a day Lady Antebellum spent doing interviews. In the morning, the trio spoke with syndicated radio stations in Nashville and, by 11 a.m., they were on a plane to California for more interviews, including a chat with LiveDaily.

"We're so excited," Kelley said. "We've been playing shows on these songs for the past two years, so to finally have something to be able to put in the fans' hands is nice.

"We've had some really loyal fans really early on that we kind of just developed off of MySpace and just the live shows," Kelley added. "They've been so great, really patient. But they've been waiting for this, so I'm excited to be able to get it in their hands. I just can't wait to see what people think. All but one song are songs that we wrote. So it's a real personal project for us. We're hopin' everybody loves it. We'll see."

[Note: The following tour dates have been provided by artist and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of the publication time of this story. Changes may occur before tickets go on sale. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.]
tour dates and tickets
April 2008
18 - Nashville, TN - Vanderbilt University's Rites of Spring Music Festival (with Colbie Caillat, Spoon, Avett Brothers)
23 - Chicago, IL - Joe's Bar
24 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
25 - Louisville, KY - Fourth Street Live
26 - Nashville, TN - Sommet Center (Country Music Marathon Concert)
27 - Evans, GA - Columbia County Amphitheatre (with Luke Bryan)
28 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre

May 2008
1 - Corinth, MS - Crossroads Arena (with Jason Aldean)
2 - Bristol, TN - Viking Hall (with Jason Aldean)
6 - Boston, MA - Hard Rock Cafe (with Blake Shelton)
17 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand (ACM's New Artists Party with Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, Luke Bryan)
23 - Montgomery, AL - Montgomery Jubilee Cityfest
30 - Winfield, KS - Winfield Country Roundup (with Luke Bryan, Bucky Covington and Lorrie Morgan)
31 - Waxahachie, TX - Country Thunder

June 2008
6 - Nashville, TN - LP Field (CMA Music Festival)
7 - Nashville, TN - Rocketown (Fan Club Party)
13 - Dubuque, IA - America's River Festival (with Kellie Pickler)
14 - Winsted, MN - Winstock Music Festival
19 - Marion, MI - Marion Fair (with Bucky Covington)
20 - Clarence, MO - Clarence Homecoming
21 - Walker, MN - Moondance Jammin' Country Fest (with Trace Adkins, Miranda Lambert)
27 - Grand Junction, CO - Country Jam (with Josh Turner)
29 - Greeley, CO - Greeley Stampede (with Tim McGraw, Little Big Town, Lance Miller)

July 2008
5 - Tuscola, IL - Tuscola Harvest Festival
11 - Fort Loramie, OH - Country Concert (with Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Jake Owen)
12 - Eleanor, WV - Putnam County Fair
16 - Twin Lakes, WI - Country Thunder (with Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift)
19 - Eau Clair, WI - Country Jam (with Joe Nichols and Carrie Underwood)
21 - Harrington, DE - Delaware State Fair (with Carrie Underwood)
22 - Cottageville, WV - Jackson County Fair
24 - New Bethlehem, PA - Clarion County Fair
27 - Janesville, WI - Rock County Fair
29 - Moundsville, WV - Marshall County Fair

August 2008
1 - Westminster, MD - Carrol County Fair
2 - Uniontown, PA - Fayette County Fair
6 - Marion, IL - Williamson County Fair
7 - Des Moines, IA - Iowa State Fair
8 - Deerbrook, WI - Fuddfest
10 - Troy, OH - Miami County Fair
11 - Norwalk, OH - Huron County Fair
12 - Altamont, NY - Altamont Fair
15 - Courtland, VA - Franklin Southampton (with Bucky Covington)
23 - Brooklyn, CT - Brooklyn Fairgrounds
24 - St. Leonard, MD - St. Leonard Volunteer Fire Station (with Craig Morgan and Phil Vassar)
25 - Centre Hall, PA - Grange Encampment Fair
28 - Grapevine, TX - Glass Cactus
29 - Burton, OH - The Great Geauga County Fair (with Billy Currington)

September 2008
18 - Frederick, MD - Great Frederick Fair (with Kellie Pickler)
21 - Bloomsburg, PA - Bloomsburg Fair (with Kellie Pickler)
27 - Marietta, GA - North Georgia State Fair (with Chuck Wicks)
28 - Beardstown, IL - Beardstown Fall Fun Festival

October 2008
4 - Elkins, WV - Mountain State Forest Festival

tour dates and tickets
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