Country music fans from all over southern California poured into the Staples Center on the night of March 27th for Lady Antebellum’s Own the Night Tour. The country trio sold out the very arena they accepted five Grammy Awards just one year ago, including Record and Song of the Year, accompanied by special guests Thompson Square and Darius Rucker.

Opening act Thompson Square kicked the night off with a five song set beginning with their hit single “I Got You”. Midway through their set, the couple took a moment to share information about their partnership with ChildFund, encouraging the audience to make a difference by signing up to sponsor a child. The husband and wife duo continued on with the performance of their most recent single “Glass”. Thompson Square wrapped up their five song set with their No. 1 single “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” as a pair of inflated red lips blew up on stage.

Darius Rucker took the stage next, sporting a baseball cap and humbly remarking about how it felt to be a “southern boy” playing at the home of the Los Angeles Lakers. The country star opened up with a feel-good track off his Charleston, SC 1966 album called “Love Will Do That”. Fans joined in with Darius as he sang his hit single “Alright”, then listened intently as he poured emotion into “It Won’t Be Like This For Long”. The audience quickly jumped back into things for “Southern State of Mind”, roaring as images of USC, UCLA, and the American flag flashed across the back screen. The South Carolina native paid tribute to “the true country fans” with his performance of Hank Williams Jr.’s  “Family Tradition”. Darius’ performance also included “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”, “Comeback Song”, and “History in the Making”. He ended his set with a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain” as a dedication to Kobe Bryant.

Just as the audience began to grow restless, Lady Antebellum’s band emerged as clips of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood preparing for the concert flashed across the tri-screen. Alas, the trio rose from below the stage as Kelley kicked off the group’s performance with their title track off the Own the Night album. The group quickly revisited tracks off their more successful album, Need You Now, with “Stars Tonight”, “Our Kind of Love”, and “Love This Pain”.

Video clips of various country music icons telling of their first dance experiences played as Lady Antebellum transitioned into their most recent single “Dancin’ Away With My Heart”. The audience members were instructed to hold their cell phones in the air and wave them back and forth, thus creating a “disco ball effect” in the rounded arena as Kelley and Scott traded lyrics reminiscent of a young summer romance. The country trio followed their sweeter song with a powerful performance of their ballad “Wanted You More”. The spotlight shifted between the two singers as they exchanged strong lyrics of a love gone sour.

Each member of Lady Antebellum took the spotlight individually. Dave Haywood went first with a guitar solo at the end of “Love Don’t Live Here”, a single off their 2008 self-titled album. Charles Kelley took his turn with the group’s “Hello World”, a deep single off their Need You Now album about a man’s epiphany about what is truly “important” in life. This section concluded with Hillary Scott’s selection of a little girl from the audience to assist her in singing the sweet summer tune “American Honey”.

Lady A brought out their band, along with Thompson Square and Darius Rucker, to the part of the stage that stretched out into the pit area for a lively performance of the Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Train” and the Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water”. Once the opening acts left the stage again, the country super-group gave a warm welcome to their special guest Ryan Tenner, frontman of OneRepublic. Kelley and Scott joined in with Tenner for a performance of OneRepublic’s latest hit “Good Life”.

Lady Antebellum held the stage again with “Run To You”, a single that virtually put their name on the map for country fans across America back in 2008. The band ended their set with a lustful single more true to country music than the rest, “Lookin’ For A Good Time”. Kelley, Scott, and Haywood bid a brief goodbye to the audience and exited the stage, leaving behind their band to finish out the instrumentals.

The stage lights cut, and traditionally, the audience began shouting “Encore!” After a few moments passed, lights began flashing as the audience quickly identified the familiar piano keys of the country super-group’s most successful single “Need You Now”. Finally, the trio emerged as the crowd joined in with the all too honest chorus of the single. Kelley and Scott’s convincing on-stage chemistry enhanced the vulnerability lying within the lyrics, leaving the audience feeling full and satisfied.