Charles Kelley Reveals Son Ward’s Reaction to Life on the Road

It’s a family affair when Lady Antebellum is on tour, since all three band members – Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood – are now parents. But at least one of the children, Kelley’s two-year-old son, Ward, is adjusting to life just fine away from home, while Lady A crosses the country on their Summer Plays On Tour with Darius Rucker.

“Ward is all about the road,” Kelley said in a press release. “I mean it’s crazy. During our sound checks he brings his little ukulele guitar out there on stage and dances around. He loves it and he’s obsessed with Hillary’s little girl, Eisele, and Dave’s little boy, Cash. They’re both older so he just kind of follows them around and does whatever they do, and it’s really cute to see.”

Ward might be a fan of road life, even though he rarely is awake long enough to see his famous father perform. But the toddler finally got the chance, thanks to Lady Antebellum’s recent “Let Freedom Sing!” show.

“He got to see his first show because he usually goes to bed around 7:30 and we did a show here in Nashville for the Fourth of July and it started at 8,” Kelley recalls. “So, I begged my wife to keep him up to see it, and he loved it. He sat side stage on her lap the whole time for our show with those little headphones on.

“That was just one of those cool, proud and warm moments for me,” Kelley continues. “And I don’t know if I want him to be a musician, but I do love that my family does get to come out on the road with me. They come about half the time, and it really is a special thing.”

Lady Antebellum might soon be out a guitar player. Kelley recently shared a video on social media of Ward with a guitar backstage as the band played “I’ll Stand by You,” by Rucker’s former rock band, Hootie & the Blowfish.

“Got us a new guitar player for the #summerplaysontour with @ladyantebellum and @dariusrucker and @russelled,” Kelley quipped.

While it certainly requires a little more work to bring Ward out with the trio on tour, Kelley says it’s definitely worth the hassle.

“You know, it’s part of it,” Kelley says (quote via Nash Country Daily). “We always want to put family first. We adjust. We always have. It’s like a traveling road family out there.”

Kelley is grateful to spend the next several weeks out on the road with Rucker, and not just for the stage time they’ll get to share. The Georgia native hopes to hit the golf course with Rucker, although he acknowledges Ward might change some of those plans as well.

“He’s got every contact, because he’s been touring for a long, long time, and he and Hootie & the Blowfish played a lot of golf on the road, so he literally has a contact in every town, and crazy-good golf courses too,” Kelley concedes on the Sunday TODAY show.

“It is going to be fun, but again, the family, now having the kids, you have to balance that,” he continues. “I used to be way more selfish with my time … You do have to balance it out a little bit more. I can’t be quite as selfish out there as I used to be.”

A list of all of the upcoming shows on the Summer Plays On Tour can be found at LadyAntebellum.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Ethan Miller