Grammys Pay Tribute to Las Vegas Shooting Victims With Moving Performance

The 60th Grammy Awards featured a moving tribute of Eric Clapton's 'Tears In Heaven,' dedicated to [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The 60th Grammy Awards featured a moving tribute of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven," dedicated to the victims of the Las Vegas concert shooting and other acts of violence in the past year.

The performance at Madison Square Garden included three artists who sang at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, Brothers Osborne, Eric Church and Maren Morris.

Fans immediately took to Twitter to express how moved they were by the four singing the acoustic track.

Grammys executive producer Ken Ehrlich told Entertainment Weekly that the performance is not be just about the 58 people who lost their lives in Las Vegas. It is also a tribute to the victims of the May bombing after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, U.K.

"It's a segment that's dedicated to the fans," Erhlich told EW. "It's dedicated to people who love music, who have always felt that it was safe to go someplace to listen to music, a place where we go to be happy and celebrate. We're the document of record for the music industry. This is all part of the landscape, and we wanted to call attention to the fact that we as artists appreciate the fact that people come to see us and to recognize that this is something that has to stop."

On Oct. 1, 2017, domestic terrorist Stephen Paddock fired at the festival crowd from his Mandalay Bay hotel room, killing 58 people and wounding over 500 others. He was found dead in his hotel room when police arrived. The motive for the shooting is still unknown.

Morris, who performed the night before the shooting, responded to the tragedy by releasing a song just a day later. The song, "Dear Hate," features Vince Gill.

"I wrote this song 3 years ago, recorded it last year with Vince Gill, and always have fans asking when I'll put it out. I never knew when would be the right time, but I realized today that there's never a right time," Morris wrote on Instagram. "Hate is everywhere, and I'm sick of not doing enough. In the darkest tunnel, there is still love & music. That's what it's here for. Here is Dear Hate. Any cent I see from this I'm donating to the Music City Cares Fund."

Chuch also wrote a song about the shooting, "Why Not Me," which he performed at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 4.

"That night something broke in me," Church said. "And the only way I've ever fixed anything that's been broken in me is with music."

Church, Morris and Brothers Osborne were all up for Grammys. Morris won a Grammy last year for "My Church."

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