Lady A

The Read

Lady A's durable asset has always been the two-lead structure — Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley trading and overlapping, with Dave Haywood filling everything underneath. It made “Need You Now” a permanent fixture and it has kept the group working through several shifts in what country radio wanted from them. The Ryman is the correct venue for a group like this to be judged in. The room strips arrangements down and rewards singers who can actually hold a part unassisted. Expect the hits, a stripped-back stretch in the middle, and probably some seasonal material given the date. A Monday before Christmas, in the best-sounding building in Nashville.

The Room

Ryman Auditorium

116 5th Ave N

Built in 1892 as a tabernacle by river captain Thomas Ryman, who was converted at a Sam Jones revival — little did he know it would become the church of American roots music.