Lady Antebellum Explain Reason for Summer Plays on Tour With Darius Rucker

Lady Antebellum will soon hit the road for their co-headlining Summer Plays On Tour with Darius Rucker. The two acts previously toured together on Lady A’s Own the Night Tour, and the trio couldn’t wait to hit the road again, this time with both of their names at the top.

“One of the biggest reasons that we, kind of together with Darius, approached this concept of touring again together was because we had so much fun last time,” Charles Kelley says. “[It was] 2012 and still to this day it’s the biggest tour we’ve ever had and it was just so much fun. The one thing that I love about Darius is, not only is he a great guy, he’s a seasoned entertainer. We finally feel like [one] too, as a band, and we’ve been at this for almost ten years now. We feel we know how to hold a crowd and put on a really fun and entertaining show.

“And I just feel like when the crowds come, they’re gonna get over three hours worth of music that is just straight sing-alongs, constantly, and that’s what we want,” he adds. “Darius is just such a great entertainer and we’re friends. We’re gonna have a lot of collaborative moments on it too, and obviously I’ll have my golf buddy there with me during the day.”

When Lady A hit the road with Rucker, they will be minus one member – Hillary Scott‘s husband, Chris Tyrrell, who is taking time off the road to care for their three children – four-year-old Eisele, and twins Emory and Betsy.

“[I’m] looking forward to it. I’ve been a bandmate, employee, husband and dad, so I’m okay removing a hat,” Tyrrell tells PEOPLE. “Besides, when you looked at whether the band could do without me or her, there wasn’t much question!”

“We’re both equipping each other to do exactly what we’re supposed to be doing right now,” adds Scott. “We just came to that agreement together. It was one of the easiest decisions we’ve ever made and the peace that we’ve felt since we made it has just been continual proof of it being the right call.”

The Summer Plays On Tour kicks off on July 19 in Toronto, Ontario. Before the band hits the road, though, they’ll headline Nashville’s annual “Let Freedom Sing!” concert on July 4th, accompanied by the Nashville Symphony.

The superstar acts will undoubtedly collaborate while on tour. Lady Antebellum joined Rucker on his 2013 hit, “Wagon Wheel,” and Kelley joins Rucker, along with Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, on his current “Straight to Hell” single.

Find a list of all of Lady Antebellum‘s upcoming shows at LadyAntebellum.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Ethan Miller