Lady Antebellum Say Next Record Will Be ‘a Little Meatier … Riskier’
In late October, Lady Antebellum announced their 2019 Our Kind of Vegas residency, and the group has hinted that they're hoping to have new music out by the time they take the stage at the Palms Casino Resort's Pearl Concert Theater in February. The country trio says that 2018 has been a prolific songwriting year, especially during their stint on the road with Darius Rucker for the co-headlining Summer Plays On Tour.
"We're writing a ton -- I mean, this whole year we were out with Darius, and we write a lot on the road, and back home," Lady A's Dave Haywood explained during a recent press event. "We honestly have a pile of close to 50-55 songs that we've written right now that we're starting to look at."
Lady Antebellum recently parted ways with their longtime label, Capitol Nashville, and inked a new deal with Big Machine Label Group. Haywood goes on to say that that transition, while challenging, also reinvigorated their songwriting process.
"It's just kind of a new energy we have, going into the studio with a new record label as well," Haywood notes. "We're gonna continue to write, but we'll be in the studio definitely by the top of the year, and we're trying to find a timeline for an album once we get the music in place."
As for the songs' subject matter, Lady Antebellum say they're hoping to connect with fans on a deeper level this time around. "There's definitely some really honest songs in this batch already," Haywood continues. "We're walking through some really deep, connecting things as a band, too, so it's fun to put that on paper as well. So we've got a lot we wanna say."
Adds bandmate Charles Kelley, "There's some layers that we wanna pull back for sure. That's one thing I will say: Sitting here talking with [Big Machine], the songs that they're gravitating towards are the ones that are a little bit meatier, and some would say riskier, to choose. Which is refreshing to us."
While the group isn't rushing into putting out new music, they are inspired by the new changes and challenges in their lives to make a record that will represent where they are as a band. "There's definitely some layers people are gonna hear on this record, some deeper stuff in there and maybe some dark stuff, Kelley continues. "It's a new perspective that lets us take some chances.
"We don't always have to be the greatest [band] in the world," he adds, "but I wanna rest my head at night going, 'Man, we put out something bold.'"
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