Lady Antebellum changes band name

Gaia Writer

Trio makes change to reflect current times

Lady Antebellum has changed its band name to Lady A, the nickname its fans have called them for the 14 years they’ve been together. The trio of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood decided upon the change to reflect the civil unrest involving the black community.

“As a band, we have strived for our music to be a refuge…inclusive of all. We’ve watched and listened more than ever these last few weeks, and our hearts have been stirred with conviction, our eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases Black women and men have always faced and continue to face everyday. Now, blindspots we didn’t even know existed have been revealed,” they share.

It continues, “After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word ‘antebellum’ from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start.”

The group shares that their original name stems from their first photo shoot together at a southern style antebellum home.

“When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern ‘antebellum’ style home where we took our first photos. As musicians, it reminded us of all the music born in the south that influenced us…southern rock, blues, R&B, gospel, and of course, country. But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before The Civil War, which includes slavery. We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued. Causing pain was never our hearts’ intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that indeed, it did just that. So today, we speak up and make a change. We hope you will dig in and join us.

“We understand that many of you may ask the question ‘Why have you not made this change until now?’ The answer is that we can make no excuse for our lateness to this realization. What we can do is acknowledge it, turn from it and take action.
We feel like we have been awakened, but this is just one step. There are countless more that need to be taken. We want to do better. We are committed to examining our individual and collective impact and making the necessary changes to practice antiracism. We will continue to educate ourselves, have hard conversations and search the parts of our hearts that need pruning — to grow into better humans, better neighbors. Our next outward step will be a donation to the Equal Justice Initiative through LadyAID. Our prayer is that if we lead by example…with humility, love, empathy and action…we can be better allies to those suffering from spoken and unspoken injustices, while influencing our children and generations to come.”

They sign off with, “This is a work in progress so thank you for being patient with us while we work to make these changes.”

The Seven-time GRAMMY Award winning trio recently released its latest album Ocean via Big Machine Label Group. The group was set to embark on the Ocean 2020 Tour this summer with Jake Owen and Maddie And Tae, but canceled due to COVID-19.

Last month, Lady A joined Brad Paisley for a special Bud Light Seltzer Sessions: Your Flavor. Your Show. livestream from Nashville. The concert featured a full band and production, while practicing social distancing recommendations, and didn’t include a live audience.

In April, the group released its latest single, “Champagne Night” from NBC’s Songland. Penned by the show’s mentor Shane McAnally, alongside aspiring songwriter Madeline Merlo and the trio, the laidback pick-me-up was crafted specifically for Lady A as it underwent a series of edits and studio sessions.

“Champagne Night” coincides with the continued success behind Lady A’s latest single “What I’m Leaving For” as the “utterly beautiful” (Music Row) track climbs at country radio. The heartfelt song “feels timely” (US Weekly) and serves as the immediate follow-up to their recent gold certified No. 1 hit “What If I Never Get Over You.”