Jason Aldean Remembers Route 91 Festival Victims on Anniversary of Shooting

Tuesday, Oct. 1 marks the two year anniversary of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, when a gunman opened fire on a crowd at the country music festival and killed 58 people, wounding hundreds more. Jason Aldean, who was performing on stage when the attack began, reflected on the day on Instagram and shared a graphic in memory of those who passed away as a result of the shooting. “This will always be a tough day for us,” he captioned the image. “Not a day goes by that we don’t think about our [Route 91] family.”

Aldean will return to play his first full concert in Las Vegas since the attack in December during his mini residency at Park MGM from Dec. 6-8, playing three shows as an extension of his Ride All Night Tour. The short engagement is being billed as Ride All Night Vegas and will see the Georgia native play to 5,200 fans per night in Park MGM’s Park Theater.

“I’ve wanted to bring our show back to Vegas for a while now, and the timing feels right,” the “We Back” singer said in a statement. “We’re going to pack up the show, set it up for a couple days and hang out with our Vegas family. I’m looking forward to being back.”

Aldean’s wife, Brittany Aldean, also shared a post on Tuesday, posting a photo of herself and her husband with their arms around each other as they gazed at Mandalay Bay, the hotel where the shooter attacked from.

“This day will always be a tragic memory,” she wrote. “Always in our thoughts and prayers #route91family.”

Brittany, who was pregnant with son Memphis at the time, was watching her husband’s show when the shooting began and previously shared an Instagram post sharing what she went through during the terrifying experience.

“As we laid behind equipment onstage with some of our road family, bullets flying past … all I could think was, ‘I never even got to hold my baby,’” she wrote at the time.

“I can’t put into words the pain and heartache we feel of the ones who are no longer with us,” she continued. “May God be with their families and friends during this horrendous time. Each and every one of you are and will forever be in our prayers.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Mat Hayward