USA TODAY National
NASHVILLE – In a festive conference room, the sounds of "Silent Night" spill into the air.
Surrounded by twinkling lights and half-empty coffee cups, the three members of Lady A – Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood – break into harmony. Their voices lock together seamlessly with notes soaring and settling softly in the same breath, as if Christmas spirit itself asked for a sound check.
"Sleep in heavenly peace," they sing, their riff on the sacred carol turning the space reverent and offering a preview of the trio's Christmas album "On This Winter's Night (Volume 2)," which arrives 13 years overdue.
"Volume 1" was released in 2012 and went platinum.
"I was like, gosh, a lot of people have this thing," Kelley tells the Nashville Tenneessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, of the first album. "I think to continue that story with them and hopefully become one of those acts that people can kind of rely on each year to be a part of their holiday season … We're hoping to do that, too."
"This Winter's Night Tour," a live show accompanying the album, will launch Dec. 5 in Atlanta and wrap with a three-night homecoming in Nashville. The new record blends the country group's signature harmonies with every imaginable holiday instrument: Sleigh bells. Chimes. And winter piano ballads that evoke cozy pajamas worn fireside.
"We were talking like, if we're gonna do a Christmas tour, obviously we're gonna have to learn more Christmas songs," Kelley told the Tennessean. "And then it was like, well, if we're doing that, might as well record a new record. It just felt like the right moment to create some excitement and let fans hear something new live."
The project revisits timeless favorites like "Winter Wonderland," "Last Christmas" and "O Holy Night," but also introduces original songs that instantly feel classic.
"Wouldn't Be Christmas" has the snow-dusted sparkle of a Hallmark movie theme song and "Christmas Through Your Eyes" is an ode to rediscovering wonder through parenthood.
The band's family has grown considerably since the first album. Scott, Kelley and Haywood now have nine children between them, including two newborns.
"I've got the youngest right now, 2 months old," Kelley tells the Tennessean. "We have a 9-year-old boy and a 2-month-old little baby surprise."
Scott's house is just as lively.
"I have four daughters," she says. "My oldest is 12, then I've got twin girls that are almost 8 and a 3-month-old little girl. We have a busy but love-filled house right now."
"My 11-year-old doesn't sleep, either. We've got an 11-year-old boy, 7-year-old girl and a 1-and-a-half-year-old who's running all over the place," Haywood adds. "The first Christmas record was before any of these kids. So the second one has become kind of a time stamp."
Lady A's Christmas album takes notes from scripture
As their families grew, so did the meaning of the season, the band says. One tradition Scott has passed down to her girls is reading scripture like Luke 2, which chronicles the birth of Jesus. Those same verses guided Lady A for "Why We Sing Noel," a track off the album featuring fellow Opry member Ricky Skaggs.
"It was the first writing appointment we've ever had together where we opened up the Bible," Scott says. "And I was pregnant with my daughter when we wrote it. That brought a whole new depth of meaning for me, carrying my own child while writing about Mary carrying the savior."
Kelley chimes in: "I came in the room like, 'What does Noel even mean again?' And we started talking about the true meaning of it. We've always been a band that likes to express our spiritual side. This was a way to do that, to tell the story again, in our own way."
The second collaboration features Chris Tomlin on "Silent Night," on which Scott reads a scripture snippet of Luke 2 halfway through the song to close out the album.
Lady A will bring their families on Christmas tour
When the band hits the road for the tour in December, their families will join them.
Haywood said the band might "have them onstage and sing or do something at the show." But they plan to be home for Christmas Eve in time to continue some beloved traditions. Haywood says he reads scripture and then leans into his wife's Texas roots with a Tex-Mex dinner.
"We always do pajamas on Christmas Eve," Scott shares.
Kelley, meanwhile, insists on a less sacred tradition. "I make my kid and my wife watch 'A Christmas Story,'" he says. "They're not thrilled, but I think it's the nostalgia of it. I've even made Hillary watch it before."
"Of course, he made me watch it," she says, laughing.
Lady A's live Christmas show is a family affair
As the "This Winter's Night Tour" approaches, the live show will balance big, joyful moments with intimate sing-alongs and storytelling.
"I want this to be a show that everybody, grandma down to the youngest kid, can experience together," Kelley says. "Some big, fun moments and some really special, stripped-down ones."
"And let it be as chaotic as it is to have nine kids between us," Scott says. "That's kind of the point: family, faith and a little bit of joyful chaos."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lady A unwraps first Christmas album in 13 years (plus a new tour)
Reporting by Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean / Nashville Tennessean
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