SOUTHERN ROOTS

Country Band Lady Antebellum Changes Name Amid Black Lives Matter Protests

The band apologized Thursday for any pain caused by their former name’s reference to a time before the abolition of slavery.

The country music band formerly known as Lady Antebellum has changed their name to simply Lady A in response to recent Black Lives Matter protests, the group announced Thursday. The band had been named for the music that inspired them from the pre-Civil War South, giving the group the idea for the name. However, in light of the recent protests following George Floyd’s death in police custody, the band said they’d reflected on the name and the way “antebellum” referred to a period before the abolition of slavery. “Causing pain was never our hearts’ intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that indeed, it did just that,” the band wrote in a statement. The new name, Lady A, is a nickname fans have long used.