Country Stars Honor Victims of Las Vegas Attack With Moving Performances

Sunday’s devastating attack in Las Vegas saw 64-year-old Stephen Paddock killing 59 people and injuring over 500 after firing on the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel.

Ever since, tributes have been pouring in from around the world to pay condolences and send support to those affected by the terrible event. Along with social media messages, several artists have dedicated their recent performances to the victims, sharing words of love in the face of terror.

Keep scrolling to see a few tributes from country’s finest.

Miley Cyrus

Cyrus kicked off “Miley Week” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with a moving performance of her 2009 hit “The Climb.”

“In honor of the lives lost, injured and affected by the tragic shooting in Vegas, @fallontonight & I dedicated this show to not only mourning this horrific event but using this platform to encourage unity, peace & hopefulness!” Cyrus wrote on Instagram after the show.

“So we started this week off with a song I haven’t performed in years … #TheClimb . These words mean more now to me than ever … ‘Keep The Faith’ ….. Sending love to ALL! Enjoy the show tonight & #MileyWeek …. hope we can make you smile even thru so much pain,” the singer added.

The star also performed a cover of Dido’s 2013 single, “No Freedom,” with Adam Sandler.

Keith Urban

Urban led a series of tributes during a vigil held at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville Monday night. The star performed Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” for the crowd after delivering moving words about the tragic event.

“I started this morning finding out about it and being shell-shocked. My 9-year-old asked, ‘Dad, you seem quiet,’ ” Urban told the audience about daughter Sunday Rose.  “I said, ‘Yeah a lot of people died last night,’ and she said, ‘Did you know any of them?’ “

“They’re like family,” he added of the fans that lost their lives. “It’s the one thing about country music. It is a community. I do know those people. It just hit me.”

Vince Gill

Country star Vince Gill also performed at the vigil, singing “Go Rest High On That Mountain.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to come and lift up [the] families who lost somebody last night,” Gill told the audience. “I’m honored to be here as a voice for the innocent … May we never lose our voice for innocent people.”

“I think more than anything we have to stick up for innocent people. If we lose sight of that, we’ve lost everything. As long as there is somebody that might have a voice for those that have been stilled… we gotta fight the fight,” he added to People. 

“Kindness would solve it all… Any problem you can imagine. Just kindness towards one another would solve every living problem we have,” he said.

Luke Combs

Combs, who had performed at the festival and was backstage when the shooting began, performed his song, “Used to You,” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday night.

The singer explained on Twitter that he was at Kimmel’s studio to tape a performance that would air at a later date, but Kimmel asked if he would be willing to perform that night and he immediately agreed.

“Music is a healer,” Combs wrote. “In this overwhelming darkness, I believe we will find hope when we rise together. Fans, it is the blessing of my life to get to make music with you and for you every day. Tonight, may we find light and hope in the chaos.”

Garth Brooks

Brooks used his weekly “Studio G” Facebook Live broadcast to share a message of hope after the attack.

“I’m very proud of how the audience handled itself,” Brooks said of concertgoers who shielded others with their bodies. “Character flows in country music. All our love to the victims, to the victims families. All our love to the bands and crews.”

Brooks thanked the police officers, first responders and volunteers who worked tirelessly to help victims, and finished the broadcast with a performance of his song, “The Change.”

“Here’s my advice: the show must go on,” he said. “When things get bad, music and musicians go to work … Because those people in those seats, they come to get away from it all. They come to be happy, to be joyous, to sing and to love one another, that’s what it’s all about…Start spreading the love, start creating the greatest power that music holds and that’s the power to heal.”

Photo Credit: YouTube / The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Instagram / @MileyCyrus