Big & Rich Sing ‘God Bless America’ with Festival Crowd Hours Before Shooting

“This is a POWERFUL moment of American unity. No politics, religion, race...Just AMERICANS. It's time to unify," the country duo captioned their patriotic post.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Big & Rich Sing ‘God Bless America’ with Festival Crowd Hours Before Shooting
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 01: Big & Rich perform during the Route 91 Harvest country music festival at the Las Vegas Village on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mindy Small/FilmMagic)

Just mere hours before the mass shooting took place at Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Big & Rich led the exhilarated audience in unity to sing the words to an American classic.

With cell phone lights creating a bright sea in the dark of the night, the country duo prompted the crowd to harmonize along to “God Bless America,” a song many citizens learn as young kids. With everyone featured in the social media clip yelling out the words without hesitation, the moment could almost give goosebumps to viewers now knowing the horrific outcome of the evening.

“This is a POWERFUL moment of American unity. No politics, religion, race…Just AMERICANS. It’s time to unify. We love the fans and are heartbroken #prayforvegas,” Big & Rich captioned the patriotic post.

Big & Rich performed the same night as Jason Aldean just before gunfire came down on the event space toward innocent festivalgoers. Although many fled to find safety or coverage, 59 people lost their lives on Sunday night and more than 500 other guests were injured in the attack. The country duo sent out their deepest condolences and heartfelt wishes following the shooting through another Instagram post.

Sending prayers to everyone involved. To do your part in helping, donate to the Go Fund Me at the link in our bio

A post shared by Big & Rich (@bigandrichofficial) on

“Unreal, tragic and sad beyond belief. We are all in shock from the senseless massacre that took place in Vegas last night at the Route 91 Fest. God Bless all the courageous men and women who helped save lives in the midst of tragedy. God be with all the wounded and the many families who have lost loved ones. Our hearts are broken. We weep with you. Sending great love to all the country music fans who endured. We must all continue to be the light that pushes back against this raging darkness with the unstoppable love of God. Amen,” they wrote powerfully.

John Rich of the duo appeared on Fox News on Monday (Oct. 2), where he recalled Sunday evening’s events, revealing that he gave his personal gun to an off-duty police officer to protect patrons inside his Redneck Riviera bar where he, Big Kenny, and Cowboy Troy performed after taking the stage at the massive country festival down the strip.

Like many other country music stars, Big & Rich sent their direct support to a GoFundMe account found as a link in their Instagram bio. Fans can head to the page to donate toward helping the victims recovery in Las Vegas.