The country music crooner delivers a heartfelt message and covers Tom Petty's classic hit 'I Won't Back Down' on 'Saturday Night Live'.
- Oct 8, 2017
AceShowbiz - Jason Aldean made a surprise visit to "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend. The country music singer paid homage to the victims and the families affected by Las Vegas mass shooting. He was on stage when the gunman opened fire into the crowd at the packed music festival in the Sin City a week ago on Sunday night, October 1.
"This week, we witnessed one of the worst tragedies in American history," he said. "Like everyone, I'm struggling to understand what happened that night and how to pick up the pieces and start to heal. So many people are hurting. There are children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends - they're all part of our family. So I want to say to them: We hurt for you and we hurt with you. But you can be sure we're going to walk through these tough times together, every step of the way, because when America is at it's best, our bond and our spirit, it's unbreakable."
After his heartfelt message, Aldean performed a rendition of Tom Petty's classic hit single "I Won't Back Down" in honor of the iconic musician who passed away from cardiac arrest at the age of 66 a week ago, one day after the deadly mass shooting.
The massacre has since renewed debate over stricter gun laws. While Aldean shied away from the issue during his "SNL" speech, the show addressed the matter on "Weekend Update". Host Colin Jost said, "The investigation into the tragedy in Las Vegas this week has sparked a larger debate in America between people who want common-sense gun control and people who are wrong."
Country music community largely remained unchanged on their tune on the gun control issue, but one musician named Caleb Keeter, a guitarist of the Josh Abbott Band, changed his views and supported the need for stricter gun laws in the wake of the tragedy.
"I've been a proponent of the 2nd amendment my entire life. Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was. We actually have members of our crew with [Concealed Handgun Licenses], and legal firearms on the bus," he wrote on Twitter. "They were useless."
"We couldn't touch them for fear police might think we were part of the massacre and shoot us. A small group (or one man) laid waste to a city with dedicated, fearless police officers desperately trying to help, because of access to an insane amount of fire power."
"We need gun control RIGHT. NOW. My biggest regret is that I stubbornly didn’t realize it until my brothers on the road and myself were threatened by it. We are unbelievably fortunate to not be among the number of victims killed or seriously wounded by this maniac."
— Caleb Keeter (@Calebkeeter) October 2, 2017
