Lady Antebellum on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Photo courtesy of The Greenroom.

With the No. 1 album in the nation and the most nominations for this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards, Lady Antebellum picked a perfect time to have its personal history intersect with country’s bigger history. The band headlined Wednesday for the first time at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and left little doubt that it will soon be headlining everywhere.

View photos from yesterday’s rehearsal and show — and check back tomorrow for more pics from tonight’s concert!

In the first of two sold-out shows, the trio deftly tied together its pop-sprinkled sound and the venue’s traditional-country background, getting a standing ovation for its encore and demonstrating a flexibility that should serve the group well.

The Ryman is currently the winter home of the Grand Ole Opry, though in another era it served as the full-time host for the venerable radio show. It’s the place where Johnny Cash first met June Carter, where Elvis Presley was supposedly told not to give up his day job, and where Hank Williams received multiple encores in his Opry debut.

Lady A honored those roots with an astute moment in which the three vocalists — Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — clustered around one old-timey microphone and sang the Hank hit “Lost Highway” with an acoustic set-up that included a stand-up bass. But the group also demonstrated its current savvy with the riff-driven titles “Stars Tonight” and “Lookin’ For A Good Time” and a smart cover of the Tom Petty rocker “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” The latter included vocal support from opening acts Randy Montana and Josh Kelley, Charles’ older brother, who also added the requisite harmonica lines.

The one-song encore featured a five-piece string section on an emotion-charged “Hello World,” an ethereal adaptation of a phrase that’s often used in computer-programming training.

Adaptation is a key word for Lady A because the group has an elasticity that should serve it well over the long haul. Charles’ smoky timbre is the soulful centerpiece for much of the band’s material, but its multiple voices provide a huge amount of flexibility. Hillary, showcased particularly well in “American Honey,” adds a commanding volume and sharp Southern accents to contrast with his easy-going sound. They’re able to move fluidly between solo frameworks and duets and to change up the sound by adding two- and three-part harmonies. No matter what musical direction they choose, they seem to do it well.

The trio confessed to some jitters about the show, because of the venue and because of the audience, which included fellow performers Jake Owen, Dierks Bentley, ‘90s hitmakers Anita Cochran and  Linda Davis (Hillary’s mom), and GAC’s own Suzanne Alexander.

“There’s definite nerves there because a lot of our friends are in the industry, and there’s always nerves that come with that whenever it’s an industry crowd,” Hillary said as the band conducted an afternoon press conference on the steps at the front of the stage. “But we’re gonna focus on the fans and just play our music and [have] a great time. We’re really just excited to play a show and then go home and sleep in our own bed. That’s so rare — and being here and the history that comes with the Ryman Auditorium. It’s gonna be a real special night.”

It was a night that confirmed Lady A is pretty much ready to go out and headline on its own. That’s an important achievement, confirmed at a historic location. Special indeed.

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