Jason Aldean Makes First Public Appearance After Las Vegas Shooting on ‘Saturday Night Live’
"You can be sure that we’re going to walk through these tough times together, every step of the way because when America is at its best, our bond and our spirit, it’s unbreakable,” said Aldean.
In a polarizing moment, Jason Aldean made his first public appearance since the shooting in Las Vegas claimed nearly 60 lives and injured hundreds of others several songs into his set at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. The singer opened NBC’s Saturday Night Live in place of the normal skit for a moving speech and a performance of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ “I Won’t Back Down.”
“This week, we witnessed one of the worst tragedies in American History. Like everyone, I’m struggling to understand what happened that night and how to pick up the pieces and start to heal,” said the Georgia native. “So many people are hurting. There are children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends… they’re all part of our family. So I want to say to them, we hurt for you and we hurt with you, but you can be sure that we’re going to walk through these tough times together, every step of the way because when America is at its best, our bond and our spirit, it’s unbreakable.”
The moment was broken when Aldean took a step back to begin his performance of the late rocker’s hit song, passing off a powerful message that he plans to ‘stand his ground’ and not let fear of terrorism take over.
Aldean was onstage when bullets rained down on thousands of fans from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Casino on Sunday, Oct. 1. Investigators are still working to track down a motive for the attack.
The spot on SNL is Aldean’s first appearance after he cancelled his weekend They Don’t Know Tour dates in California. The tour is scheduled to resume on Oct. 12 in Tulsa, OK.
