Lady Antebellum will celebrate July 4 in a big way this year, when they perform for Nashville’s “Let Freedom Sing!” event, accompanied by the Nashville Symphony. But the trio, made up of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, recall earlier Independence Day celebrations that weren’t quite as grandiose – although just as fun.
“July 4th is always, for me, my birthday week,” Haywood says. “My birthday is July 5th so we grew up going on family trips to the beach. We would always go to Hilton Head, South Carolina and always take trips for my birthday, so that’s always a fun time of the year – watch fireworks. I think my best memory would be my birthday party when I was nine or 10 years old. We went to the batting cages and I remember I was swinging so hard; it was 100 degrees outside, I was swinging in the batting cage and ended up passing out right there in the batting cage.
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“You’re trying so hard to hit the ball, you’re a kid and you really don’t realize how much water you should be drinking,” he adds. “I was that kid who was on the ground in the batting cage, people fanning and pouring water all over my face. Happy Birthday to me and America.”
Scott also has fond memories of the patriotic holiday, but her favorite memory has nothing to do with fireworks or outdoor picnics.
“For many, many years in a row, we would be up at the lake for Fourth of July, and having those memories of being on the boat and going tubing and skiing and enjoying being out in the summertime, great weather on the water,” Scott shares. “But, then for me, Fourth of July was when [husband] Chris [Tyrrell] proposed. So, I got proposed to on July 2nd up at the lake, the same lake I grew up going to, and so that’s probably the biggest highlight of Fourth of July to me – getting a rock on my hand.”
Lady Antebellum will spend the rest of the summer on the road, co-headlining their Summer Plays On Tour with Darius Rucker. The trio are also working on a new album, the follow-up to theri 2017 Heart Break.
“We’re embarking on that journey right now,” Scott tells Rolling Stone Country. “Over the last several weeks, we’ve been coming out of this break and are just now getting our heads wrapped around that. We’re all so much more present than we have been in a really long time.”
Chris Janson, Lucie Silvas and Shannon Sanders will join Lady A for the event. “Let Freedom Sing!” is free to the public. More information can be found at VisitMusicCity.com.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Erika Goldring
