While taping their portion of the upcoming Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music television special last month, Lady A was surprised by an invitation from Darius Rucker to join the Grand Ole Opry, and the significance of the honor is not lost on the trio.
"I mean, it really, truly was a surprise," Charles Kelley recalls in a statement from their label. "All my friends have asked me, they're like, 'Did you know?' And we had absolutely no idea.
"I know it just meant the world to the three of us," he continues. "It means the world to our family, and can't think of anybody that I would want more than Darius Rucker to have been the guy that welcomed us in. He's the closest friend of mine in this music industry and I lean on him a lot for advice, and just friendship in general. And so, it was pretty special for us to share that moment and see him even tearing up. It just means the world, man."
"This is everything for us," adds his bandmate Dave Haywood. "As country music artists growing up in Georgia and Tennessee, the Grand Ole Opry is it. That is the top of the top.
"And so, I really feel like our whole career has been working toward this moment. We've been able to play lots of great venues around the world, win some awards for our music as well, but this takes the cake. This means everything to us, and that special family of legends that invited us to be a part of that family, this is the highest honor.
"This is the one I will first tell my grandkids about. I'm so honored and blessed that Lady A, we can be members of the Grand Ole Opry."
"This is the one I will first tell my grandkids about."