Kelsea Ballerini (l) did meet and greets and took selfies with fans at the firehouse before the concert. Photo by Ron Bailey.

St. Leonard, MD — Here’s full, upfront disclosure – this reporter had Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” as his ringtone for quite some time. Granted, I replaced it with Eric Church’s “Springsteen,” but it is still a good indication that I generally like Lady Antebellum and specifically “Need You Now,” so I admit I was predisposed to like the group when they appeared Sept. 13 at the Bayside Pavilion at St. Leonard Volunteer Fire Department (VFD).

And indeed I did like them as did the admiring crowd attending the concert series’ second performance of the year. The band teased us all by not playing “Need You Now,” before leaving the stage, knowing full well that the audience would demand them back for an encore, and of course a performance of “Need You Now.” In addition to being my ringtone, the song will go down as one of the top songs of the decade, having reached number one on the Billboard Country and Adult Contemporary Charts, and garnering single and song of the year from Country Music Association (CMA) and a Grammy for song of the year.

Lady Antebellum is a unique group in that it is fronted by two very accomplished vocalists — Hillary Scott (l) and Charles Kelley. The trio is filled out by guitarist and background vocalist Dave Harwood. They have been together since the group’s inception in Nashville in 2006. Scott called their convergence, first in composing and then the forming the group, as “magical.”

Kelley quipped that he joined the group because he had the hots for Scott but it was quickly apparent it wouldn’t work out. What has worked out is the musical chemistry that shows on their many hit recordings and during their stage shows.

Lady Antebellum, nearing the end of a summer tour, opened their long Bayside Pavilion set with some of their hits, including the more recent Number 1 “Bartender,” along with “I Run To You,” “Just a Kiss,” and “We Owned the Night.” Scott dedicated “American Honey” to the devoted members of the St. Leonard VFD. The concert then diverged to some of their newer material from their latest album “747.”

Scott and Kelly alternate introducing songs and at one point they introduced the members of their talented back-up band, who have also been with the group since its inception. Opening act Kelsea Ballerini also was invited to perform with them. Scott called Ballerini the next CMA Female Vocalist of the Year.

That is not farfetched since Ballerini just came off a whirlwind week in which she was nominated for CMA’s New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. She also appeared on Good Morning America and was chosen by CMA to call radio stations and DJs to inform them they had received award nominations. And to boot, it was her 22nd birthday the day before the St. Leonard concert.

Ballerini did meet and greets with fans before the show at the firehouse and posed for selfies with them. She also had the crowd participate in a music video of her hit “Love Me Like You Mean It,” while they were wearing big paste-on red lips.

Final concert of the season will be the postponed Little Big Town performance Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.  Opening act is Lauren Alaina. For ticket information go to http://slvfd.org/

Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com

Please enjoy to Photo Gallery of the concert by The Bay Net Photojournalist Ron Bailey