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Chris Young returned to the stage last night (Oct. 4) for the first time since the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. The country star performed shortly before a gunman shot and killed 58 concertgoers and wounded over 500 more during Jason Aldean's headlining set.
Emotionally disturbed by the event, Chris Young opened his set at the Big Fresno Fair in Fresno, Calif. with a stirring cover Vince Gill's "Go Rest High On That Mountain." He dedicated the performance to the victims of the tragedy.
"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," Young said to the audience. "But I'm going to give it my best. Music can heal."
Earlier that day, Young took to social media to release a video statement on the event. "People lost their lives, people were injured, and I'm so heartbroken over that," he says. "My thoughts are with those families and everyone who had to go through that ordeal. That should never happen at a concert."
Vegas was the scariest night of my life, but hopefully music can help heal... pic.twitter.com/pYouNPSOpA
— ChrisYoungMusic (@ChrisYoungMusic) October 5, 2017
He goes on to imply that he's not backing down from his music in light of this tragedy. Young echoes words he later laid out on stage in Fresno that night, saying, "I'm a musician and music can heal."
Young ends the video by thanking the heroes that came out during the tragedy to save lives.
"Thank you to all the first responders, firefighters, police officers and everybody that was just helping people that they didn't even know," he says. "And I love you guys very much."
Related:
- Brittany Aldean Shares Her Harrowing Account of the Las Vegas Shooting
- Miranda Lambert Performs Emotional First Concert Since Las Vegas Shooting
- The Faces and Stories of the Las Vegas Shooting Victims
