Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood Wishes to Relive First CMA Awards Experience

On Tuesday, the CMA will announce the list of nominees for the 45th annual award show, which is set to take place in November. The chances of seeing Lady Antebellum's name scattered all over the various categories is very likely, as the red-hot trio have been owning the charts and country radio over the past year.

For Lady A's Dave Haywood, nothing will ever replace that special moment of winning their first CMA Award for Best New Artist in 2008, however. That trophy set the bar for their career, which continues to skyrocket with each new song and album.

"We always talk about the night in 2008 when we won Best New Artist at the CMA's," Haywood tells Taste of Country with a grin. "That for us was a turning point kind of night for us. We still felt so new, and I felt that was kind of that one little thing that gave us a boost for people to say, 'Oh, that's that group! I've heard of them!'"

"I would love to go back to that night," he continues. "All three of us took our moms to the CMA Awards that night. It was just a special night. It was so much fun. I think that was one of the happiest we've ever been. We look back at the photos of that [night] from my iPhone and backstage stuff that are just hysterical because we were like kids in a candy store, soaking up everything. That was the first chance where we got to meet Reba and some of these other artists that you grow up on. It was just kind of at that point where somebody like Keith Urban would come up and say, 'Oh, I love 'Run to You'.' Then you're like, 'Oh my gosh!' Having that experience for the first time ... I would go back and relive it tomorrow."

Nominees for the 45th Annual CMA Awards will be announced on September 6. Stay tuned to Taste of Country for a complete list of nominees and nominated artists' reactions. The awards will air live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 9 at 8:00PM ET on ABC.