On Friday persistent rain, lightning and threats of additional storms caused the sold out concert of Lady Antebellum’s at Illinois State Fair to be canceled.

The pop country group, whose album “Need You Now” is the top selling album for 2010, had sold more Grandstand show tickets than any other performer since 2005.

Authorities stated that all ticket holders would be issued refunds.

Amy Bliefnick, State Fair manager, informed the partially full Grandstand of the cancellation 45 minutes prior to the concert’s start time.

Bliefnick said, I have bad news, as the crowd collectively cried “noooo.”

This weather’s a problem, as you can tell, Bliefnick said, as she stood on stage surrounded by equipment and musical instruments covered in tarps.  We have to cancel tonight’s concert.

Approximately an hour before the 8 pm scheduled start time of the concert, a thunderstorm moved over the fairgrounds, turning the track at the Grandstand into a big, muddy mess.  It continued to rain and lightning flashed as Bliefnick and staff discussed whether or not to cancel the show.

Bliefnick said, we are as disappointed as everybody else is.  It was a very tough decision to make.  However when you see how muddy this track is and see the lightning, the first thing we have to consider is our fair goers safety.

Motocross in the Arena was also canceled by the fair, and due to lightning also closed the carnival’s midway.

The fair during shows that have sold out, sell over 4,000 standing room only track tickets, which is located between the stage and seating area.  During past shows where it rained, patrons holding track tickets were able to move into the seated area.  Last year during Josh Turner’s concert that’s what happened.

However since the 13,285 sellout crowd had purchased their tickets for the Lady Antebellum show, on Friday that wasn’t an option.

According to Bliefnick, the fair does have rain insurance for covering ticket refund and band costs.  Lady Antebellum was to have been paid a guarantee of $125,000 in addition to 85 percent of box office gross receipts for the amount over $205,000.

The three Lady Antebellum members on Friday night posted a video on the internet to apologize to the fans for the show being canceled.

Hillary Scott said we will be back as soon as possible.  For our fall tour we will be coming to Chicago.

According to reports, Lady Antebellum’s first London headlining show has sold out.

The concert will take place Wednesday, August 11 at the Bush Empire at Shepherd, a venue of 2,000 seats that for four decades hosted BBC television.

Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum said all summer long we have been really looking forward to visiting the UK.  I wish we could stay longer to travel a bit, however this at least will give us a great introduction to new friends and fans we have been making over there.

“Need You Now,” the band’s second album, has surged in the UK’s Top 10 sales charts, as well as in South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, Holland and Ireland.  In addition it’s the top selling album for 2010 in the US.

On August 27 Lady Antebellum, after they return from Europe, will be performing on “Good Morning America” on ABC before they head to Orlando to perform a show on September 20.

Tim McGraw, who this week released “Southern Voice,” his new album, has announced an extensive tour of North America. The trek will kick off in Omaha, Nebraska on February 11 and wrap up in Virginia Beach, Virginia on August 15.

McGraw said, I’m very excited to get this chance to head out on the road for our Southern Voice tour next year. I am looking forward to getting the chance to play old favorites and new songs for my fans.

The special guests for McGraw on each date will be Lady Antebellum. The opening act duties will be split between Love and Theft and Lost Trailers.

On October 27 Tim will be appearing on The Jay Leno Show. Gregg Allman will be joining him to do a special rendition of “Southern Voice,” McGraw’s hit sing. On October 29 McGraw will be performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Lady Antebellum, the highly successful country trio, will be finishing up their support tour for Keith Urban before they hit the road later this fall for their own headlining run.

The three piece band from Nashville will be performing three more shows with Urban. They will wrap things up on October 13 with a hometown performance. They will then take a week off before heading back out on the road. They will kick their headlining tour off with a show in Phoenix on November 11. The tour of 11 cities will be visiting casinos, fairs and clubs and wind things up in Vinton, LA on December 4.

Lady Antebellum, a trio comprised of Dave Haywood, guitarist, and singers Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley, will be releasing “Need You Now,” their sophomore album in early 2010. The album follows up the band’s self-titled debut of 2008.

“Need You Now,” the first single from the set can be downloaded on iTunes. The song is streaming currently from the MySpace page of Lady Antebellum. There is also a video posted on their website with Haywood instructing fans on how to play guitar to the new single.

Lady Antebellum has received two nominations from the Country Music Academy. “I Run to You” has been nominated as Single of the Year, and the group has also been nominated as Vocal Group of the Year. On November 11 ABC will be airing the 43rd annual awards ceremony.