The night of Route 91 Harvest Festival is a scarring memory Jason Aldean will never forget—and in a new interview, he's reflecting on the emotions he felt in response to the tragedy.
Aldean was performing on stage during the final night of the 2017 festival when a gunman opened fire on the crowd below, taking the lives of 59 people and injuring thousands more. Speaking with Willie Geist for Today's Sunday Sitdown, the singer opens up about the unthinkable event.
"When somebody buys a ticket to our show or comes into an arena to watch you play, we want them to come, have fun, get home safe, and come see us the next time we're in town," Aldean says. "The last thing we're thinking is they're going to show up and never leave."
One aspect that made the experience particularly terrifying for Aldean was the fact that his wife Brittany, who was pregnant with their son Memphis at the time, was backstage during the shooting.
"We are safe... our angels were definitely watching over us [that night]. No words for what happened... Just horrific. Praying for everyone," Brittany wrote in an Instagram post the day after the shooting, and Aldean agrees with her description.
"It definitely was scary," he says. "I hate that she was there to have to experience it. On the other hand, I know if she was at home and saw it on the news she would've freaked out—and I don't know what would've been worse."
In the days following the tragedy, Aldean and wife Brittany traveled back to Vegas to visit with the survivors and those recovering in the hospital. Aldean is often met with questions about Route 91, and while he'll never forget that night or the people affected, it is a harrowing memory he tries not to re-experience.
"That's not something I want on my resume for the rest of my life," he says of his association with the tragedy. "For me, it's something not that I want to forget, but it's something that I choose to not relive over and over."
The singer recently visited a fan in Arizona who sustained serious injuries during the shooting and brought her a signed guitar. Several of the survivors started a group called "58 Survivors, 1 Last Set" asking for Aldean to return to Vegas to complete his set as a way to help in the healing process.