Brett Young Reveals What Lady Antebellum Taught Him About Headlining
Brett Young is currently on the road for his first headlining tour, and he'll be putting to use some of the lessons he learned from Lady Antebellum.
The breakout country singer spent much of the year on Lady A's You Look Good Tour along with Kelsea Ballerini, and he says that while he learned from them musically and as performers, the main lessons he took away were not stage tips.
"Lady Antebellum have been at the top of this for 10 years, and they're such consummate performers," he tells us. "It was interesting, and maybe even more important long-term, getting to learn from them behind the stage, before the show. The business side, but also the interpersonal side. The way that they treat their employees, and the way that trickled down to the opening acts and everybody on the staff."
Watch Brett Young Perform "In Case You Didn't Know" for RISERS
"You don't really think about how important that is and what a big team it takes to put on a tour like that until you're on it, and it's very evident from the beginning that the headlining act sets the tone for all of that," he adds. "The Lady Antebellum tour was a really, really long tour, and if Charles, Hillary and Dave don't go out and set that tone for everybody else right away, that's a lot of dates to be out on the road with that big of a group. If the wheels come off, it kinda comes back to them, so it was interesting to see how important it is just to treat people well and make people feel welcome, and also run a tight ship."
Young scored success straight out of the gate with his debut single, "Sleep Without You," and he notched a No. 1 hit with his second single, "In Case You Didn't Know." His third single, "Like I Loved You," is currently at country radio, and he's on the road for his first headlining run on his Caliville Tour, which features Carly Pearce as his support act. He's definitely keeping Lady A's example in mind.
"I'm able to go into it knowing how important it is, the tone we set as a band," he says.
Young recently joined with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to share his favorite places to visit in Nashville and Orange County as part of their Instant Insider program, whose perks he might be able to use himself out on the road.
He's also one of Taste of Country's RISERS for 2017. That program helped discover and promote the biggest rising stars in country music.
Brett Young On Set at the 2017 RISERS Shoot