On Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire in Las Vegas on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival during Jason Aldean‘s set, killing 58 people and wounding 489. Aldean and his band, who were on stage at the time, all made it out safely, but healing from the tragic event would take time.
Speaking to Sirius XM’s Storme Warren, Aldean shared that his son, Memphis, who was born in December, helped him with the healing process after the shooting.
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“One of the things that helped me personally was the birth of my son,” the singer said via Sounds Like Nashville. “Within a couple of months, I saw the worst thing you could possibly experience and the best thing you could possibly experience, with him being born. It gave me a reason to look forward to the new year.”
Aldean explained that after taking time to reflect at home, he and his band knew that they needed to get back on stage.
“Out of all the shows I’ve ever played, this happened one time. It’s not the norm,” he said. “Getting back out and doing what it is we do — that to me is the only way to honor anybody.”
The singer will do just that, as he recently released his new single, “You Make It Easy,” from his forthcoming album Rearview Town, which is due on April 13.
Aldean also spoke about how close he really was to the shooting, revealing that his bass player had a bullet lodged in his instrument.
“We finally started getting all of our gear back, and my bass player opened up his bass, and there was a bullet lodged in his bass,” the star recalled. “We were that close. My bass player who stands to my left had a bullet lodged in his guitar.”
He added that had his bass player been using a different instrument, things may have gone differently.
“The one he was wearing for that particular song is a solid ash bass,” Aldean continued. “It’s pretty heavy wood. Pretty thick. When [the bullet] hit, it just lodged in it. Sometimes basses are chambered, or there are holes throughout the bass. If it had been any other bass, the bullet probably would’ve gone through and hit him in the gut.”
Photo Credit: Instagram / @brittanyaldean
