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Country singers the Brothers Osborne, Eric
Church and Maren Morris all performed at the Route 91 country
music festival before gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, fired into the
crowd on Oct. 1, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more,
the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Paddock also
killed himself.
On Sunday, the singers performed a haunting version of Eric
Clapton's ballad "Tears in Heaven" seated side by side in front
of a backdrop lit up with the names of the victims.
"(We) are here to honor the memory of the beautiful music-loving
souls all so cruelly taken from us," said Morris, paying tribute
to not only the victims of the Las Vegas shooting but also the
22 people killed when a suicide bomb was detonated at an Ariana
Grande concert in Manchester in May.
The tribute prompted a wave of appreciation on social media,
including from gun control advocates. Former Representative
Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt,
tweeted:
"Thank you @MarenMorris, @brothersosborne, and @ericchurch for
shining a light on our gun violence epidemic. We all need to do
our part to make our communities safer. #Grammys #CourageToFight
Church, who was the headline act on the first night of the Route
91 festival and wrote the song “Why Not Me” in its immediate
aftermath, said the music industry would always be united with
its fans.
"On October 1, all of country music was reminded in the most
tragic way, the connection we share with our fans, and the
healing power music will always provide," he said.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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