David Nail to perform with Lady Antebellum

Kennett native David Nail will be part of the upcoming tour headlined by Lady Antebellum. The groups will play in Jonesboro, Ark., in October as part of the tour schedule.
(Photo provided)

Nail, who has released three singles from his current album, "I'm About to Come Alive," said he first met Lady Antebellum after hearing Hillary Scott play with a house band at Nashville.

"I've known those guys for years," Nail said. "I first met Hillary [Scott] downtown one Sunday night. I really had no clue who she was. I saw her sitting in with the house band somewhere and I immediately called the head of the [recording] staff at my record label and told him that if he was smart, he would come down and see this girl and I thought she was a superstar.

"I had never done anything like that before so I feel like he kind of thought maybe it was pretty important. So he did [come to the location] and he immediately walked through the door and called me an idiot and said, 'That is Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum.'"

Nail said he had began to hear some of the hype about the group and he introduced himself to Scott.

"We became really good friends right away," Nail said. "She is quite possibly the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. I've had the privilege to get to know the other guys in the band since then. So I guess there has always be that friendship there first and foremost. They are arguably one of the most successful acts in music, period. Not just country music.

They kind of decided to embark on a headlining tour of their own this fall and when it came time to pick an opening act, I guess they not only probably like me as a person, but liked what I do musically and it fit in with what they do. So I think that it was somewhat of a natural pairing."

Nail said the tour will consist of 32-dates, including a close-to-home date for the solo artist at Jonesboro, Ark., on Oct. 1.

Nail said the Jonesboro performance will be the closest he has played to Kennett, and "some emotions will be running high."

When asked if he had plans to visit his hometown around the time of the performance, Nail said he wasn't sure what the schedule will be like. He noted that he does have an off day the day after the concert.

"With it being so close, I may be able to make a quick trip home," Nail said. "Maybe run in to Bill's and grab a barbecue sandwich but I definitely have to get back fairly early because, even though it is close to home and it will be unique for a lot of reasons, it still is work and we still have a job to do.

"We will try to treat it as much like any other show as possible, which, that will probably be impossible. We at least have to attempt that from the beginning."

Nail said the tour is scheduled to begin in September and run through the week before Thanksgiving.

Following the tour, Nail said he hopes to start work on a new album.

"We are getting ready, probably the first part of November, to start on the new record," Nail said. "I haven't had a whole lot of time. I think I will have played about 170 dates this year by the end of November.

"I'm excited for this tour, but at the same time, I'm excited to get back in and make a new record."

Nail said his current album was released approximately a year ago, and everyone in his camp is excited to see what is next.

"With the last two songs out there, we feel like we have definitely created a brand and established myself as an artist," Nail said. "Hopefully, we'll just be able to continue to grow. I'm anxious for a little time off, but at the same time, a wise person told me when I first started in this business, 'You're only as successful as your schedule says you are.' I definitely want to continue to work."

For his latest single, "Turning Home," Nail shot a lot of the footage in Kennett.

"It was really special," Nail said. "It was something that I think I had always wanted to do. I think when it got down to making the decision, I wanted it to be genuine. I've always tried to live my career by the theme of, 'You may never have this opportunity again.' So you can't put things off like that.

"When we decided to we were going to do a video, I told the people at my record label and my management, that this was something I wanted to do. They were very supportive about it.

"I just wanted to pay tribute to where I'm from. Most of the interviews that I do and most of the shows that I play, I kind of make it a point to tell people where it is that I grew up and the part that it played in, not only me as a man, but as an artist."

Nail said at the end of the day, the people in his band that had always heard him talk about Kennett said they now know why he is the way his is.

*Tickets for the

upcoming Jonesboro concert are available now at tickets.astate.edu.