The country music scene found itself at the center of controversial news today as Grammy Award-winning trio Lady Antebellum announced they would be changing their name. The music group began in Nashville, Tennessee, and has enjoyed being a fan favorite in the country music crowd, but amid the recent protests incited by the police-involved death of George Floyd, Lady Antebellum has decided to now go by "Lady A."
If you aren't familiar with the term "Antebellum South," it describes a period from the late 1700s all the way until the Civil War when the Southern region of the United States flourished, much due to the work of slaves. The term "Antebellum," separate from its historical context, has rubbed people the wrong way for decades, but now Lady Antebellum has decided to make a change.
"After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word 'Antebellum' from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start. When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the Southen 'Antebellum' style home where we took our first photos. As musicians, it reminded us of all the music born in the South that influenced us."
They went on to say that they're "regretful and embarrassed" that they didn't consider its historical implications and apologized. As expected, those country fans are heated. Read through it all below.