Keith Urban Covers ‘Lean on Me’ as Route 91 Harvest Festival Tribute [WATCH]
Keith Urban visited the Bobby Bones Show on Tuesday (Oct. 3) and shared a moving cover of "Lean on Me," a classic song originally released by Bill Withers in 1972, in tribute to the victims of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. Readers can press play above to watch.
During Urban's time on Bones' radio show, the DJ asked Urban how he would respond to fans who are questioning if they should still go to live shows and festivals after an event like the Route 91 shooting, to which Urban replied with an immediate "Of course."
"We play music. People want to come and be a part of that," Urban says. "All we can do is take all the precautions we can for us and the audience, but to not do it is letting all that hate win."
Country Stars Respond Following Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting
Urban went on to describe the close-knit community within the country music world and the impact that such an event has on that community. "Lean on Me" is a powerful expression of that feeling of family.
"I thought I would do something that we could all be a part of," Urban said before starting the song, "which is what it's about."
On Monday night (Oct. 2), Urban gave an emotional performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at a Nashville vigil held at the Ascend Amphitheater in memory of the 59 victims and more than 500 injured. Urban says those people will be a continuing concern for the country music community.
"It's not just the people we lost, it's the over 500 that, we don't know what their lives are gonna be like from here forward as well, and their families," he says. "The effects just run deeper and deeper."
Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims