Country Trio Lady A and Blues Singer Lady A Discuss ‘Positive Solutions And Common Ground’ Over Shared Name

After Lady Antebellum announced that the country trio was changing its name to Lady A in an effort to take a stand against racism, headlines soon followed that there was already a black soul singer who had been performing for more than 20 years as Lady A  – and she was not happy about sharing the moniker. The artists met up over a private video chat Monday for “transparent, honest and authentic conversations,” with the promise of “moving forward with positive solutions.”

The band formerly known as Lady Antebellum explained in a statement posted on social media June 11 that the past few weeks had opened the members eyes to “the injustices, inequality and biases black women and men have always faced,” as well as blindspots they didn’t even know existed.  

“After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest Black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word ‘antebellum’ from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start,” the band wrote. 

The statement added, “When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern ‘antebellum’ style home where we took our first photos. As musicians, it reminded us of all the music born in the south that influenced us…Southern Rock, Blues, R&B, Gospel and of course Country. But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before The Civil War, which includes slavery. We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued.” 

Seattle-based singer Lady A – whose Twitter page describes herself as a “Pacific NW Diva, The Hardest Workin’ Woman in Blues, Soul & Funk” – initially had harsh words to say about the name change and how the band went about it without contacting her.   

“How do you just take someone’s name after making a mistake with the one you have @ladya  I’m the one True Lady A and have been for over 20 years.  You didn’t do your homework the first time and now you want to take my professional name and brand.  Think again Colonizer,” she posted June 11. 

She also shared a screenshot of a Rolling Stone article that included an interview with her about the controversy and added a caption June 12 saying, “How can you say Black Lives Matter and put your knee on the neck of another Black artist? I’m not mad..I am however not giving up my name, my brand I worked hard for. #GodWillFightMyBattle #TheRealLadyA #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist #TheTruthIsLoud”

The Rolling Stone article noted that a representative for the trio said the band wasn’t aware of Lady A and planned to reach out.  

The band kept its word and on Monday the country trio shared a screenshot of a video call that featured the soul singer Lady A, blues singer Dexter Allen and gospel singer John Oliver III.

“Today, we connected privately with the artist Lady A. Transparent, honest, and authentic conversations were had. We are excited to share we are moving forward with positive solutions and common ground. The hurt is turning into hope. More to come. #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist” 

 The singer retweeted the post and followed up the message with a post Tuesday saying, “God is good and Communication is key. So glad to speak with @ladya these amazing young people.  Together Change is possible in this world.  #TheTruthIsLoud #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist”

Pollstar published a guest post June 15 from David ‘5-1’ Norman, a tour director, tour manager, production manager and tour accountant, who wrote an open letter to the country trio, Red Light Management and CAA thanking them for the name change. 

“As a person of color having worked in the entertainment industry for over 35 years in all genres of music you’ve definitely opened my eyes to the country industry moving forward and becoming more open-minded,” Norman wrote. Read more here.