Jason Aldean was performing on stage during the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas in 2017 when a gunman opened fire on the crowd, and the musician is now returning to the city to play his first full shows since the tragic shooting.
Aldean is staging a mini residency at Park MGM from Dec. 6-8, playing three shows as an extension of his current 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. Tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT.
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“I’ve wanted to bring our show back to Vegas for a while now, and the timing feels right,” Aldean 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.”
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“The 6 string Circus is coming back to Vegas in December,” he added on Instagram. “These shows are gonna be pretty special for lots of reasons. Can’t wait to see you guys there! #vegasstrong.”
Aldean previously returned to the city when he played during the 2018 ACM Awards and the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival in September. Ahead of his abbreviated iHeartRadio set, he took a moment to praise the city of Las Vegas for its strength and resilience.
“On behalf of myself and my family and the country music community, I want to say thank you to the city of Las Vegas for your courage, strength and kindness,” he said, via Rolling Stone. “Tonight we are all proud to be Vegas strong.”
The singer also reflected on the anniversary of the tragedy while speaking with reporters.
“That’s a day that’s hard to forget. We know it’s coming up,” he said. “To be back in Vegas this close to it is, at times, a little weird, but in another sense it’s nice to be back. It’s really our first performance we’ve had since then, so tonight is going to be another step in getting through all that stuff, and coming back here is going to be a big part of it.”
The father of two also discussed the shooting during a 2018 episode of the PBS series Breaking Big in which he called it “the worst night of my life.”
“It doesn’t make me afraid to tour, it makes me very much aware of my surroundings now,” he revealed. “It’s the difference in getting on stage, not having a care in the world and doing my thing. Now, it’s you get on stage and you’re, you know, you’re looking. It’s an experience that you just never forget.”
Aldean’s Ride All Night Tour runs through Oct. 11.
Photo Credit: Getty / Steven Ferdman
