Jason Aldean Prepares Return to Las Vegas to Perform After Route 91 Harvest Festival

Jason Aldean will return to Las Vegas on Sept. 21 to perform as part of his High Noon Neon Tour. The show comes close to the one-year anniversary of the tragic Route 91 Harvest Festival in Sin City, which occurred on October 1, 2017, when Aldean was on stage while gunman Stephen Paddock shot from his room at the Mandalay Bay Resort, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more.

As he prepares to return to Vegas, the "Drowns the Whiskey" singer admits he is still coming to terms with what happened on that fateful night.

"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 tells Sunday TODAY. "The last thing we're thinking is that they're going to show up and never leave."

Aldean was on stage when the bullets began to spray out over the crowd, while his wife, Brittany Aldean, pregnant with their son Memphis (now eight months old), was enjoying the show backstage.

"It definitely was scary," Aldean admits. "But I think about, on one hand 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 have freaked out, and I don't know what would have been worse."

The Georgia native knows he will always be associated with the the Route 91 Harvest Festival charity – forever linked to the deadliest masss shooting in America.

"That's not something I want on my resume for the rest of my life," he concedes. "For me it's something, not that I want to forget, but I choose to not relive over and over."

There are still plenty of good things for Aldean to celebrate. In addition to expecting his third daughter (his second child with Brittany), Aldean's career is soaring, and not just with his music. The 41-year-old just opened his own Jason Aldean's Kitchen + Rooftop Bar in downtown Nashville, right across from Tootsie's, where he used to perform.

"It's unbelievable to come this far," Aldean reflects, "just in the 20 years I've been in Nashville, and be a part of what's going on in Nashville right now, which is amazing."

Aldean is joined on the road by Luke Combs and Lauren Alaina. Find dates at JasonAldean.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Jason Kempin