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

When Jason Aldean heads to Las Vegas next month for a three-night residency at Park Theater, it will mark his first time performing in the city since the tragic Route 91 Harvest Festival. Aldean was on stage when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more. Although Aldean has returned to Las Vegas since then, visiting with survivors one week after the tragic event, his concert will mark the first time the “We Back” singer performs in Sin City, outside of a music festival, which he admits leaves him with mixed emotions.

“It’s a smaller, intimate venue — I think it holds about 5,000 or something,” Aldean told Music Row. “I think we are probably going to have people maybe coming out to those shows who haven’t been to a concert since Route 91, so to have them come in to a little bit more of an intimate deal and hopefully feel safe and be able to enjoy the show.

“It’s going to be a sure emotional thing for a lot of those people and probably us as well,” he continued. “It’s one of those things, anytime we ever go to Vegas, no matter what it’s for, that’ll be something that is always with us. To go back for the first time and play some shows there, I think it will be good for us. I think it would be good for the fans coming to watch and hopefully be a good experience.”

Aldean, who performed at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2018, didn’t want to rush back to Vegas without a good reason, but feels like now the time is right to bring his music back to the bustling city.

“It’s one of those things that we always wanted to make sure we waited until the right time to do that,” Aldean acknowledged. “There was a time where it would have been too soon and also we wanted to make sure if we went back that we did it the right way. The response has been good, which tells me people are excited that we’re coming there and excited to come see us. So it makes us feel good, and we’re excited for it.”

Aldean’s guitar player found a bullet lodged in his guitar after the mass shooting. Aldean later acknowledged he could have used more therapy following the deadly event, but is working hard to move past the tragedy. Find more information about Aldean’s Vegas shows, held Dec. 6 to Dec. 8, by visiting his website.

Photo Credit: Getty / Jason Kempin