Eric Church wasn’t planning on going through with his Grand Ole Opry performance on Wednesday night after Sunday’s shooting in Vegas, but one video he received changed his mind.
Church, who performed at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Friday night, shared with the audience that he had been sent an interview featuring Dr. Heather Melton, whose husband, Sonny Melton, died in the attack while shielding his wife from gunfire.
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“I didn’t want to be here tonight,” Church said. “But last night, somebody sent me a video of a lady named Heather Melton, and she was talking to Anderson Cooper on CNN and she had on our ‘Church Choir’ tour shirt.”
Melton told Cooper she and her husband had gone to Vegas to see Church, and that the singer was [Sonny’s] guy. Melton added that the pair had tickets for the Grand Ole Opry on Wednesday.
“The reason I’m here, the reason I’m here tonight,” an emotional Church said, “is because of Heather Melton, her husband, Sonny, who died, and every person that was there.”
The singer added that there were two empty seats in the venue for the Meltons.
Church then performed a new song he wrote after the attacks, as well as a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
When words fail, music speaks. 🙏 @ericchurch #Opry pic.twitter.com/VnQkvo5YHd
— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) October 5, 2017
Hear Church’s moving words in the clip above.
Photo Credit: YouTube
