Lady Antebellum lit up the Wind Creek Steel Stage at Musikfest | Review by Victoria Durgin

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Review by Victoria Durgin

 

Country crooners Lady Antebellum covered over a decade’s worth of their hits as they lit up the third night of Musikfest on August 4 at the Wind Creek Steel Stage.

Before Lady A took the stage, though, newcomer Brandon Ratcliff played several of his own songs.

The highlight of Ratcliff’s performance may have been his song “Slow Down Hometown”, a tribute to both his ever-changing hometown and everyone who has returned to their home to find it completely different. With the revitalized Steel Stacks in the background the song carried a poignant truth.

After the sun went down and the breeze started blowing, Lady Antebellum took the stage with one of their latest singles, “You Look Good”. What followed was 90 minutes of chart-topping hits, fun crowd interactions, and plenty of personal stories from the group itself.

At one point Lady A member Hillary Scott quipped about how proud her daughter was this morning as Scott named a crayon at the Crayola Factory “Mermaid Mommy”. It was a fun connection to the area the crowd appreciated.

The band played through some of their biggest hits and took the crowd from “Downtown” to “Run to You” and seemingly everywhere in between. They even offered up some covers and delivered a rocking performance of both Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” and Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine”.

The band blended their slower ballads and their upbeat chart hits perfectly and balanced several tones and topics with the ease that likely comes from a decade on the road. Front man Charles Kelly led a touching performance of “Hello, World” in honor of the victims of recent shootings but was able to quickly pivot to party anthems without awkwardness.

By the time the trio left the stage before the encore performance the crowd had long been brought to their feet. The encore, which featured “I Need You Now” and “Love Don’t Live Here”, rounded out the night on a high note.

From beginning to end the concert delighted the audience and moved quickly through multiple albums and several decades with ease and enjoyment.

https://www.ladyantebellum.com/

https://www.musikfest.org/