Lady A cancels Request Line tour due to Charles Kelley’s ‘journey to sobriety’

Country music group Lady A has canceled the remainder of their tour for 2022 as singer Charles Kelley embarks “on a journey to sobriety.”

“We have decided to postpone our Request Line Tour until next year,” the band said in a Thursday statement notifying ticket holders about the “hard but important decision.”

“We are a band, but more importantly we’re family,” the statement continued. ⁣⁣We’re proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety. So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together. It’s early on this road, but we are determined to do what will best set us up for many more years together.”

The update in “real time,” they said, will be followed by updates from ticket holders’ points of purchase.

“We’re looking forward to making 2023 our best year yet!” the group said, signing off “with love.”

Other appearances will also be postponed, including a Nebraska State Fair show on Sept. 3.

The Grammy-winning group, known for the hits “Need You Now” and “Just a Kiss,” consists of Kelley (the brother of pop singer Josh Kelley), Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott.

Lady A was set to launch the 21-date tour with back-to-back nights at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium on Aug. 13. When announcing the tour in April, the group said the intimate run of shows would include a hit-packed set and would foster fan interaction — concertgoers could “directly request songs, making no two shows the same.”

They are still expected to release “Told You I Could Drink,” a collaboration with country artist Breland, on Friday. Though Kelley, 40, hasn’t spoken much publicly about his struggles, he referenced it when promoting the single on Instagram on Monday

“Fired up for this one,” the singer and guitarist wrote. “Ironic since I stopped drinking haha.”

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The band’s 2019 album “Ocean” also featured a track called “Be Patient With My Love” that Kelley co-wrote and that he considered his “autobiography,” the Tennessean reported. The song is about his struggles with drinking and spirituality, he told People magazine at the time.

Formerly known as Lady Antebellum, the group truncated its name in June 2020 to dissociate from the racist history of the pre-Civil War era that its original moniker conjured. The name change resulted in a legal dispute — and a countersuit — with veteran blues singer Anita White, who had performed as Lady A for decades. The lawsuits appeared to be settled earlier this year with both parties resuming work with the stage name Lady A.