Lady Antebellum welcomed a surprise guest onstage in Missouri on Thursday (17Aug17) as Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet put his drumming skills to the test.

The Need You Now hitmakers took their You Look Good World Tour to the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Thursday night, and Eric was among the fans who turned out for the concert in his hometown.

The actor was given the full VIP treatment as he hung out with the country singers backstage before the gig, and even joked about giving the group a pre-show pep talk.

In a video clip posted on the band's Twitter page, Eric said, "I just told the band to have fun with it. I just said, 'You know what guys, you've been here before, you know what you're doing, this is not your first show, this is like, your 686th show! So go out there and really act like you've been here before, you deserve to be here, and just really give the audience everything they deserve.'"

The footage also captured Eric filming parts of the show from the side of the stage and as he zoomed in on Lady Antebellum's drummer, the percussionist produced a pair of drumsticks for the actor to join in, too.

Eric was game and showed off his rhythm for a brief moment, before picking up his phone again to record the rest of the performance.

"Appreciate ya (sic) coming out to the show last night, @EricStonestreet. You killed it on the drums!!" the Lady Antebellum stars captioned the footage of their special guest.

The funnyman reposted the tweet on his page, and shared his excitement at the show, stating, "Dreams DO come true! They are the best band and the best people, ya'll (sic)!"

Eric has a history with country music - he previously worked as Garth Brooks' bodyguard in the 1990s before finding fame in Hollywood.

Lady Antebellum's Missouri concert took place just hours after they announced bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood were both expanding their families. Singer Hillary is expecting her second child with husband Chris Tyrrell in February (18), while Dave's wife Kelli is due to give birth to their second kid in December (17).