Lady Antebellum Owns The Night During Nashville Show

Lady Antebellum owned the night Friday (Sept 11), as they played their first-ever headlining show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena as part of their Wheels Up Tour. Taking off with dramatic smoke and lasers to complement the Fleetwood Mac–like energy of “Long Stretch Of Love,” Lady A members Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood flawlessly flowed through a set that took the crowd on an emotional ride through the past nine years they’ve been together.

Cruising into a crowd (and beer vendor) favorite, “Hey Bartender,” the trio had the crowd drinking and dancing in full swing throughout the arena before slowing it down with their No. 1 hit “American Honey.” The Capitol Nashville group gave a nod to the writers on this song, specifically Cary Barlowe, who was present.

They continued full speed with “Freestyle” and “Our Kind Of Love,” only to pull on the emotional strings once again as everything went silent, except for Haywood in the spotlight playing the piano opening to “Just A Kiss.” As the song continued with a night-themed backdrop of a full moon and stars, Scott took time to humbly thank the crowd, saying, “Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, this is such a bucket list moment for us, thank you!”

Running through the crowd during “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” and onto a center platform, Lady A broke it down to a special acoustic performance of “One Great Mystery,” as well as “Dancing Away With My Heart,” and a cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” In honor of Sept. 11, dedicated a special a cappella version of “Hello World” to all servicemen and women. As Haywood came slowly in with the guitar and Kelley took a strong vocal lead, he exclaimed, “It’s a special day and it’s also my birthday. This means the world to us.”

The show continued back onto the main stage as they moved from anthem “Downtown” into a fierce rendition of Shania Twain’s “Any Man Of Mine,” which brought everyone to their feet as Scott strutted down the runway. During the Nathan Chapman-produced “Compass,” show opener Hunter Hayes joined on banjo, with Chapman on guitar. Hayes soon after reappeared, sporting a Preds jersey, along with fellow show opener Sam Hunt in an American flag tank, to help close the show as Lady A rocked Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”

The trio returned for an encore with smoke and silhouette lighting to capture a powerful version of their title track “747.” Continuing with fan favorites “Need You Now,” and “We Owned The Night,” the Wheels Up Tour touched down with dramatic close, a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”

Opener Hunt started off the show with a high-energy set, moving around the premise of the floor seats and hugging fans along the way. Hayes kept the energy alive playing up and down the stage and engaging the audience to sing and dance to Walk The Moon’s “Shut Up And Dance.”