REVIEW: Lady Antebellum @ Jones Beach Theater 07/14
It has been over a decade now that the Grammy-winning trio of Hilary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood that make up Lady Antebellum have been together as a band. On July 14, the trio took the stage at Jones Beach Theater in NY as part of their fifth headlining tour. The You Look Good tour kicked off in May of 2017 following the release of “You Look Good,” the first single from their newest album. Soon after, the band released their seventh studio album, Heart Break.
One of two artists joining the band on their fifth headlining tour was Californian-born country singer Brett Young. From his first studio album, which had been released in February of this year, the singer saw major success in his first two singles, “Sleep Without You” and “In Case You Didn’t Know.” He performed both singles in his set and received a great response from the audience, all of whom are likely to recognize Young’s voice as it has taken over country radio this past year with these two tunes.
Following Young was country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. After releasing her first studio album in May of 2015, the young Tennessee native has consistently topped the country radio charts with catchy single after catchy single—most notably, “Love Me Like You Mean It” which was closely followed by “Dibs.” Performing each of her successful hits, Ballerini mixed up her set with other tracks from her first album as well as some new ones from her upcoming second album. Towards the middle of her set, Ballerini gave an acoustic cover of the popular top 40 hit “Closer” by The Chainsmokers for which she led an audience sing-a-long. When it came to performing her hit, “Peter Pan,” the artist prefaced the song by saying to the audience “Thank you for changing my life with this song.” The gracious and energetic young star performed her current radio single, “Legends” as well which amplified the power of her set before she finished up with her popular 2016 hit, “Yeah Boy.”
A month after releasing their seventh studio album as a band, Lady Antebellum took the stage at Jones Beach with a lengthy set full of both old and new hits. Among fan favorites that made the cut were hit singles from each of their past albums such as “Downtown,” “Compass,” and “American Honey,” to name a few. Alongside the trio were a full band and several vivid screens that brought the You Look Good tour to life. From their latest release Heart Break, the group played a handful of new, catchy tracks that the audience seemed to already be familiar with. Towards the end of their set, they delivered a powerful performance of the latest hit single, “You Look Good,” from which the tour is named after.
Lady Antebellum’s setlist was made complete by the addition of a few well-known covers. A soulful acoustic rendition of “You’re Still the One” by one of the most iconic females in country music, Shania Twain, was the first cover in the set. Closely following that, the group welcomed opener Brett Young to the stage to join Charles Kelley in covering Tim McGraw’s “Something Like That.” In a complete change of direction, Hillary Scott and opener Kelsea Ballerini emerged at the back of the stage sporting identical jackets that were embellished with each of their last names. The two powerful female vocalists then performed Beyonce’s famous tune, “Crazy In Love.” After a lineup of several hits, the band ended with their first-ever single to top the charts on country radio, “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” To close out a terrific show, Lady Antebellum gave a two-song encore with their past hit, “Bartender” followed by the popular “Need You Now.” Despite the rainy, unpredictable weather that Jones Beach was met with that night, the You Look Good tour provided an unforgettable show packed with talent.
-Daniella Weiss
