Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

With three members, Lady Antebellum have quite a few Christmas traditions. While Dave Haywood’s family was making the Christmas candy, Divinity (which is made up mainly of Karo syrup and sugar, Charles Kelley’s family was enjoying homemade apple cider. “My mom always made it and she’d put all these spices [in], and it’s one of those things that always reminds me of Christmas,” says Charles. “My mom also used to make baked apples too, which I don’t know what our obsession is with apples, but apparently, we’re Christmas and apples.”

Lady A’s Hillary Scott says her family has a tradition every year of visiting with friends. “A really close family friend of ours, that we’ve been best friends with since I was a little baby, they have a big party on the 23rd of December – every year,” she explains. “And there’s always some fun theme, and we get together and sing Christmas carols, and there’s always a rendition of ‘[Tender] Tennessee Christmas’ every year. It was just such a huge part of growing up, and it’s something that I continue to do every year to this day.”

Dave Haywood says that one of family Christmas traditions always included a taking a test. “My dad on Christmas Eve, he would actually read The Christmas Story. Very predictable, I know, but after The Christmas Story, he would always give his famous Christmas test,” says Dave. “And he would have this long test and he would ask us about the Three Wisemen… the entire Christmas story. So, I’m gonna have to get the copy of it from him because he never gives us the full answers, but I’d love to get that test from him and be able to pass that along. I’ll quiz my wife this year.”

Lady A will perform songs from their new Christmas album, On This Winter’s Night, at Nashville’s Schemerhorn Center during a one-night only show on Monday (December 3rd). If you weren’t able to make it to the show, you can catch the entire show on the trio’s YouTubeChannel three times, beginning Tuesday (December 4th) at 8pm ET and Wednesday (December 5th) at 2am and 2pm ET.

By the way, you can check out Lady A’s own Christmas favorites on Spotify. The playlist is available to subscribe and listen to, and Lady A will add more songs each week. Check the list, which includes songs by Trisha Yearwood, Nat King Cole and Donny Hathaway.

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood talks about one of the Haywood family traditions.

Lady A (Dave-Christmas tradition) OC: …this year. :25
“I think a tradition I would love to carry on is kind of a funny one. My dad on Christmas Eve, he would actually read The Christmas Story. Very predictable, I know, but after The Christmas Story, he would always give his famous Christmas test. And he would have this long test and he would ask us about the Three Wisemen… the entire Christmas story. So, I’m gonna have to get the copy of it from him because he never gives us the full answers, but I’d love to get that test from him and be able to pass that along. I’ll quiz my wife this year.”

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood explains a family tradition of making Christmas candy every year.

Lady A (Haywood Family tradition) OC: …Haywood household. :23
“I think a big family tradition for us is actually making this Christmas candy called Divinity. It’s a mixture of Karo syrup and sugar; it’s just a super sugar treat.  But we make it every year, and my aunt makes it too, and everybody shares it with all of our relatives. You can make part of it with pecans and parts with walnuts and all kinds of crazy things. For us, it was a lot of food around the Haywood household.”

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley talks about his family’s tradition of making apple cider around the holidays.

Lady A (Charles-apple cider tradition) OC: …and apples. [Hillary laughs] :29
“One thing I honestly always associate with Christmas is apple cider, hot apple cider. My mom always made it and she’d put all these spices [in], and it’s one of those things that always reminds me of Christmas. And so, actually, when we had some family over for Christmas this last year, I made some hot apple cider, and I felt very, like I was carrying on our tradition. My mom also used to make baked apples too, which I don’t know what our obsession is with apples, but apparently, we’re Christmas and apples.” [Hillary laughs]

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott talks about one of her family Christmas traditions.

Lady A (Hillary-Christmas tradition) OC: ..this day. :26
“One of my favorite Christmas memories, it’s actually a tradition we have every year – a really close family friend of ours, that we’ve been best friends with since I was a little baby, they have a big party on the 23rd of December – every year. And there’s always some fun theme, and we get together and sing Christmas carols, and there’s always a rendition of ‘[Tender] Tennessee Christmas’ every year. It was just such a huge part of growing up, and it’s something that I continue to do every year to this day.”

Kip Moore’s video for his latest single, “Beer Money,” opens with a scene between Kip (who plays a car mechanic) and his “boss,” who is played by his actual manager, Shawn McSpadden. They didn’t have to go too far to find the motivation for the friction that existed between the two.

“We bicker a lot with each other, so it kind of came natural to us,” Kip says.  “We get along great, but he makes me mad sometimes so I just kind of carry that anger into that little scene.”

That particular scene wasn’t in the original treatment for the video, though. Kip wanted a scene to reflect what he went through while chasing a music career.

“I thought about how I wanted the whole video to flow and the story, and at the end of it, I said, ‘Let’s go back and let’s do this opening scene like this,’ because that’s how so many of my jobs were,” says the Georgia native. “I was always trying to write songs while I was at work or doing other songs, and I always had bosses getting on to me, especially the whole time I was here in Nashville. So, that was a very true scene to my coming through this town.”

“Beer Money” is currently sitting inside the Top 5, and Kip is performing it while he’s on the road with Eric Church on the Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour.

AUDIO: Kip Moore talks about the opening scene of his video for “Beer Money,” featuring his actual manager.

Kip Moore (Beer Money video) OC: …this town. :25
“That wasn’t in the original piece, ‘cause I thought about how I wanted the whole video to flow and the story, and at the end of it, I said, ‘Let’s go back and let’s do this opening scene like this,’ because that’s how so many of my jobs were. I was always trying to write songs while I was at work or doing other songs, and I always had bosses getting on to me, especially the whole time I was here in Nashville. So, that was a very true scene to my coming through this town.”

AUDIO: Kip Moore talks about working with his manager on his latest video for “Beer Money.”

Kip Moore (Beer Money video) 2 OC: …with it. :12
“We bicker a lot with each other, so it kind of came natural to us. We get along great, but he makes me mad sometimes, so I just kind of carry that anger into that little scene…but it was easy. We had a good time with it.”

In this week’s Urban Chat, Keith Urban takes a break from the studio to say a quick hello!

The video for Eric Church’s latest smash, “Creepin’,” has its terrifying moments, especially for the leading man in the clip, who is played by actor Jared Sullivan. “I’m in this relationship I can’t get out of and the train is a metaphor for this relationship, and I can’t escape and I’m running through the train,” explains Jared. “I’m walking, and I’m coming across these people that symbolize the failing aspects of my relationship.”

Jared is originally from Durant, Oklahoma, and he moved to Nashville last year, where he’d planned to continue doing merchandising for various bands. However, that all changed when he decided to take acting classes and got booked in a principal role in a PSA for the Armed Forces Network. He’s also had a few roles in some independent films, as well, before being booked as the lead character in Church’s “Creepin’” video.

The shoot for “Creepin’,” which was directed by Peter Zavadil, wasn’t all glamour and glitz for anyone, including Eric or Jared. “They had us in Chattanooga, on a steam train, and this train didn’t have air conditioning,” he says. “It was 100-plus degrees, and I was sweating my tail off. They had people coming up after every take, you know, with like little paper towels dabbing me off, trying to keep me dry, trying to keep me looking good for the shoot.”

Eric is currently out on his Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour, which is scheduled to wrap December 15th in Sunrise, Florida.

“Creepin'” is from Eric’s CMA Album of the Year, Chief.

By the way, if you were wondering who the red-headed woman is in the “Creepin’” video, her name is Melissa Core, and she’s a choreographer, dancer and model originally from Australia.

AUDIO: Actor Jared Sullivan explains his character in Eric Church’s “Creepin’” video.

Eric Church (Creepin’ actor) 1 OC: …relationship. :28
“[Director Peter Zavadil] was amazing, he knew exactly what he wanted and like the energy he brought to the set, it was infectious. Basically, he just wanted me to be scared, to be able to convey a sense of helplessness and panic because my character is, I’m in this relationship I can’t get out of and the train is a metaphor for this relationship, and I can’t escape and I’m running through the train. I’m walking, and I’m coming across these people that symbolize the failing aspects of my relationship.”

AUDIO: Actor Jared Sullivan talks about his character in Eric Church’s “Creepin’” video.

Eric Church (Creepin’ actor) 2 OC: …helpless, you know? :18
“There are scenes where I’m being scolded by people, you know, telling me that I was wrong, that I mistreated this girl, and she almost feels empowered now. That was the motivation he was giving her, and that she was getting stronger, so she’s standing up to me and it’s, I’ve never seen this side of her before. So, I’m scared. I feel helpless, you know.”

AUDIO: Actor Jared Sullivan said it was extremely hot during the shooting of Eric Church’s “Creepin’” video.

Eric Church (Creepin’ actor) 3 OC: …the shoot. :16
“They had us in Chattanooga, on a steam train, and this train didn’t have air conditioning. You know, it was 100-plus degrees, and I was sweating my tail off. They had people coming up after every take, you know, with like little paper towels dabbing me off, trying to keep me dry, trying to keep me looking good for the shoot.”

The members of Lady Antebellum are spreading holiday cheer with their Christmas album, On This Winter’s Night, featuring “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” Lady A’s Hillary Scott says recording the song put her in a flirtatious mood. “There’s something kind of flirty about it, and so whenever I read through the lyrics again – ‘cause, of course, it’s a song I’ve known my whole life – when you really read it, it’s light-hearted and fun and flirty,” she says. “And so, I just kind of pictured just having that attitude and tried to really think about it whenever I was doing my vocals on it, and it does make you smile.”

Lady A will be performing “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and many more from the band’s On This Winter’s Night CD for a special holiday performance in Nashville on December 3rd. If you can’t be there, you can catch the entire show, which will be streamed on YouTube on December 4th at 8pm ET, December 5th at 2am ET and 2pm ET.

You can also see the band perform, along with many others, during the ABC-TV special, A CMA Country Christmas, on December 20th at 9pm ET.

AUDIO: Lady A’s Hillary Scott talks about their Christmas song, “A Holly Jolly Christmas.”

Lady A (Holly Jolly Christmas) OC: …you smile. :21
“A ‘Holly Jolly Christmas,’ there’s something kind of flirty about it, and so whenever I read through the lyrics again – ‘cause of course it’s a song I’ve known my whole life – when you really read it, it’s light-hearted and fun and flirty. And so, I just kind of pictured just having that attitude and tried to really think about it whenever I was doing my vocals on it, and it does make you smile.”

We have for you a LIVE version of Sugarland performing one of their classics ‘Tennessee’. Relive the 2012 “In Your Hands” Tour right here with the duo’s rewind videos!

Dierks Bentley has been added to the GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night in Nashville for a special tribute to the legendary Johnny Cash!  The Who, Hunter Hayes and The Band Perry will join Dierks on the show. They join previously announced performers Luke Bryan, Maroon 5, Ne-Yo and hosts Taylor Swift and LL Cool J. Tune in next Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 9:00P CT on CBS.

The one-hour special — which will announce nominations in several categories as well as feature performances by past GRAMMY winners and/or nominees — will take place live for the first time ever in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, December 5th on CBS beginning at 10pm ET.