Lady Antebellum onstage in Little Rock.
Lady Antebellum debuted its Own The Night World Tour concert film Thursday (10/11) at Nashville’s Green Hills theater. Band members Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley were on hand to introduce the flick which mixes front-of-house performances and backstage fun into a 90-minute ride, set for release Dec. 4.
The band’s arena tour stop in Little Rock, Ark. was recorded for the movie, offering plenty of special crowd connection moments. Kelley and Scott make wonderful duet partners, seemingly going into character on “A Kiss Goodnight,” and bonding with fans amidst a sea of cell phone lights on “Dancing Away With My Heart” and “Hello World.” Haywood rocks a guitar solo while standing on a red grand piano (behind-the-scenes footage shows how he spent hours selecting the right shade of red paint).
Lady A keeps life on the road exciting and busy with ping-pong tournaments and a backstage bar named Club LaBellum. The band also focuses on songwriting with a road studio dubbed R2D2, and helmed by Haywood.
The Own The Night tour visited Switzerland, England, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway, the latter of which the band agreed was the most humbling concert on the run. Moviegoers chuckled when an Irish teenage girl quipped, “He looks like someone who smells really nice,” though no one knew which “he” she was talking about.
The film alternates between the Little Rock concert and band flashbacks. In 2007 Lady A’s concerts were mightily different from its present day headlining stops, including an early show at a Citgo gas station where Haywood laughed, “Nothing says the kick-off of deer season like Lady Antebellum.” Back then, the band cruised from stop to stop in Kelley’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, and eventually upgraded to a Winnebago. Now the operation has grown to 14 buses and the band is acutely aware of the responsibility of having so many employees.
Before the screening, CMA members and industry guests gathered at a reception in the downstairs lobby. It was a rare occasion to enjoy free Oktoberfest and popcorn trail mix from a movie theater concession stand.
For more on Lady A’s tour, see MusicRow’s exclusive interview with the band.
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Sarah Skates has worked in the music business for more than a decade and is a longtime contributor to MusicRow.View Author Profile
