Chris Young Dedicates First Post-Route 91 Festival Performance to Victims [WATCH]
.@ChrisYoungMusic dedicates first song by @vincegill at @BigFresnoFair to victims of #LasVagasShooting @ABC30 pic.twitter.com/n3n6DvToJr
— Cory James (@CoryABC30) October 5, 2017
On Wednesday night (Oct. 4), Chris Young played his first show since Sunday night's (Oct. 1) tragic Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, during which he was standing just offstage when the shots rang out. Before he took the stage on Wednesday, Young delivered a message to his fans on Instagram, and during his show, he remembered the shooting's victims.
“People lost their lives, people were injured, and I’m so heartbroken over that. My thoughts are with those families and everyone who had to go through that ordeal," the artist says in a video taken on his tour bus. "That should never happen at a concert.
"I hugged my family and talked about what I was going to do this week as far as the show I’m going to play tonight," Young adds, "but I’m a musician, and music can heal.”
Young's video message message was his first since he posted on Twitter from Las Vegas the night of the shooting. That night, he told followers that he had spent "I don't know how long" down on the floor of a trailer listening to the gunfire.
"I'm not gonna say anything else other than I'm lucky to be alive," Young said at the time. "As are many others ... and so many people are gone ... this is heartbreaking."
Young opened his Wednesday night concert in Fresno, Calif., with an emotional cover of Vince Gill's "Go Rest High on That Mountain," dedicated to the victims of the shooting, which killed more than 50 and injured more than 500.
“I was in Vegas the other night. I heard this song a lot; I’ve never attempted to sing it because I have a huge amount of respect for the guy who did it originally, but I’m going to give it my best," Young said from stage. "Music can heal.”
Young joins many of his fellow artists in speaking about courage in the face of grief and the need to support each other. Miranda Lambert and Eric Church, among others, offered powerful tributes at their first shows since the tragedy.
Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims