The Wheels Up Tour was the fourth headlining tour by American country music trio,
Lady Antebellum
Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...
. The tour was in support of their sixth studio album, ''
747'' (2014) that began on February 28, 2015, in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
, Norway,
and concluded on October 3, 2015, in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. It was the forty-fifth ranked show of 2015, according to
Pollstar
''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017.
History and profile
Founded in 1981 in Fr ...
and grossed $23.2 million.
Background
On January 6, 2015, while appearing on ''
The Talk'', the trio first announced the tour with cities being announced shortly after. Lady Antebellum will take the tour to Europe, Australia and North America. In North America the tour will be a part of
Live Nation's ''Country Megaticket''.
The tour's name "Wheels Up" is played off from the title of the band's current album, ''747'', like a plane taking off.
Band member
Charles Kelley
Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and lead singer and founding member of the country music trio Lady A, which was formed in 2006 and are signed to Big Machine Records.
Early life and career
Kelle ...
says about the tour, "The magic of being with fans from all over the country is really why we're ultimately all here." "Being able to play off each other on that stage is honestly where we have the most fun, and I have a feeling the crowd will already be on their feet when we get out there after starting the night with Hunter and Sam!"
Production
For the show's production it was designed to match the music of Lady Antebellum, according to production designer, Bruce Rodgers. He also went on to stay that their music inspired it. The stage is designed to give a
3D look by using an oval shaped portal, a video screen, a
latticework of
LED lights
An LED lamp or LED light bulb is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps
and can be significantly more efficient than mos ...
, and three lighting pods that can play at different elevations.
Concert synopsis
The show begins with the instrumental of "Long Stretch of Love" with the video screen being the only thing lit up. The image on the screen is filled with colors such as blue and purple, in the middle is a speaker that moves along to the music. After nearly a minute of this the middle screen begins to rise and all three screens go dark. As it rises a bright light emerges and then when the light diminishes Scott, Haywood, and Kelley emerge through where the middle video screen was and start singing "Long Stretch of Love". The screen then descends back down. Lady Antebellum ends the night with "We Owned the Night".
Opening acts
*
Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American country pop singer. She began songwriting as a child and signed with Black River Entertainment in 2014, releasing her debut studio album the following year, '' The First Time''. H ...
*
The Band Perry
The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry ( mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August ...
*
Lee Brice
Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...
*
Kristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...
*
Brandy Clark
Brandy Lynn Clark (born October 9, 1975) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kace ...
*
Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian country music songwriter and entertainer.
Cassar-Daley has released thirteen studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums over 30 years, including the platinum-selling ''The G ...
*
Brantley Gilbert
*
Hunter Hayes
Hunter Easton Hayes (born September 9, 1991) is an American multi-genre singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is proficient at more than 30 instruments.
Hayes released his self-titled debut album in 2011. It reache ...
*
Sam Hunt
Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sports career before signing with MCA ...
*
Kip Moore
Kipling Christian Moore (born April 2, 1980) is an American country music singer and songwriter signed to MCA Nashville. He has released a total of four studio albums for the label: '' Up All Night'', '' Wild Ones'', '' Slowheart'', and '' Wi ...
*
Maddie & Tae
Maddie & Tae are an American female country music duo composed of Maddie Font (née Marlow) and Tae Kerr (née Dye), both of whom are singers, songwriters, and guitarists. The duo was signed to the revived Dot Records in 2014. Their debut album, ...
*
Thompson Square
Thompson Square is an American country music duo composed of husband and wife Keifer and Shawna Thompson, both of whom alternate as vocalists. They signed to Stoney Creek Records, a sister label of Broken Bow Records, in 2010. The duo has releas ...
Setlist
Tour dates
;Canceled shows
*June 13, 2015:
Southaven —
BankPlus Amphitheater(Canceled due to scheduling conflicts)
;List of festivals & fairs
: These concerts were a part of the Country 2 Country music festival.
: This concert was a part of the CMC Rocks Queensland Festival.
: This concert was a part of the Carolina Country Music Festival.
: This concert is a part of the Rockin' River Country Music Festival.
: This concert is a part of the Big Valley Jamboree.
: This concert is a part of the Allen County Fair.
: This concert is a part of the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam.
Live DVD
The ''Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour'' was released to DVD on November 13, 2015. It was shot during their June 27 show in Irvine, California.
Personnel
;Band
*
Dave Haywood
David Wesley Haywood (born July 5, 1982) is an American country musician and songwriter. He is one-third of the American country music band Lady A, in which he plays guitar, piano and mandolin, and sings backing vocals.
Early life
Haywood's fat ...
: Guitar, mandolin, piano, vocals
*
Charles Kelley
Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and lead singer and founding member of the country music trio Lady A, which was formed in 2006 and are signed to Big Machine Records.
Early life and career
Kelle ...
: Vocals
*
Hillary Scott
Hillary Dawn Scott-Tyrrell (born April 1, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the co-lead singer of Lady A, previously known as Lady Antebellum, a country music group that was formed in 2006, and is signed to Big Machine Records ...
: Vocals
*Clint Chandler: Mandolin
*Dennis Edwards: Bass guitar
*Jason "Slim" Gambill: Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
*Jonathon Long: Accordion, musical director, piano
*Chris Tyrrell: Drums
;Crew
*Brett "Scoop" Blanden: FOH Engineer
*Arlo Guthrie: Lightning design
*Bruce Rodgers: Production design
;Other
Red Light Management: Management
References
{{Lady Antebellum
2015 concert tours
Lady A concert tours