www.usatoday.com: Jason Aldean remembers confusion then pandemonium in the early seconds of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people.
Aldean, who was on stage at the Route 91 Harvest festival when the shooting started, told NBC's Today that because he was wearing in-ear monitors, that for the most part all he could hear was music or his guys talking to him.
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I can’t imagine having a ton of people gathered to hear me or celebrate my art just to have them be attacked and killed by an angry person who should not be in possession of a gun. I know that I would feel an insane amount of guilt and pressure from society to say all the right things when deep down knowing that the families of the victims probably would blame me. It is said to think that this kind of story sounds all too familiar. I remember being in middle school when the shooting at Sandyhook happened and the shooting in the movie theater by the guy wearing a joker mask. I remember those being the early days of consistent American shootings and the country being in absolute shock about the horrors of these deaths. However, now hearing about the LA shootings brings on a mild shock and more disappointment in our country, society, and government for not coming close to solving this problem and stopping the shootings from happening at all.
The effect that this has to have had on Jason Aldean is incomprehensible. I cannot imagine being in his position and having to deal with the guilt that one would naturally feel regardless of the fact that none of this is considered his fault. It would take a lot to work through the emotions as well as the memories of such trauma and being at the vantage point he was how much he would have seen. The disconnect here is incredible at how passive so much of the country has been about the shooting, brushing it off as just another tragedy that has occurred in the world as compared to those who were in the event and will forever be traumatized by the smallest things as a result. I remember when the shooting in the movie theatres happened a few years back. I had a friend who was in the theatre next to the one in Colorado and to this day cannot go to any theatre because of the PTSD it induces.
I really can not imagine what Jason Aldean must be going through, and I’m honestly amazed at how quickly he was able to get back onstage after such a traumatic experience. I think it’s very interesting how in every account and video I’ve seen or heard from the Vegas shooting, most everyone didn’t know that the noise was gunfire until about halfway through the incident. From watching the videos, I don’t think I would’ve been able to tell either, which is a part of what makes this attack so terrifying. For Jason Aldean, and honestly performers everywhere, it’s horrifying to think how easy it is for these mass shootings to happen, and how easy it is for the noise to be mistaken for something else. I truly can’t even imagine how terrifying it must be for him to perform now, to be alone on a large stage with the earpieces in, in front of thousands of people, subconsciously listening for any strange noises at any time.
I can’t even remotely understand how much trauma and pain this must have caused not only to Aldean but to everyone who was there in the venue enjoying themselves and having fun. I can’t imagine being onstage while the shooting was happening and having no idea what was going on because all you could hear was from the in-ear monitors. I can’t imagine the shock of realizing that what you thought was noises from a broken speaker was actually gun shots. Aldean has such a good heart to play for the victims and raise money so that people can heal both physically and emotionally. I completely agree with what he commented in the end “We spend so much time arguing with each other and not enough time working on the issue, that’s the problem.” There’s so much more to do than just sending thoughts and prayers. The more important thing is to take action that will protect the people from domestic terrorism and prevent things like this from happening again.
There is absolutely no way to imagine what it must have been like for Jason Aldean during and after the Las Vegas shooting. Music is an activity of community, happiness, peace, and release. It’s an art form that is enjoyed by the masses, and I cannot imagine what he must feel knowing that people lost their lives trying to enjoy something I created. I am genuinely shocked at how quickly he was able to get back on stage after this event happened, in the same way I was by Ariana Grande’s quick return to the stage after a terrorist attack at one of her concerts in Manchester, United Kingdom. Maybe it’s just the demand of these musicians and their music or maybe it’s the emotional connection and healing that is connected with it, but regardless it is astounding. It is so sad to know that terrorist attacks like this one are becoming more and more frequent and more and more horrendous but still I hope there will be time before we have to face another tragedy like this again.
I think that Jason Aldean’s actions after this shooting are the most telling of his character and of the strength behind the entertainment community as a whole. I can only imagine the way he and his team felt having to travel around and play in memory of the victims to then immediately continue their tour, but doing so was all they needed to do to begin healing the community. As far as the shooting taking place to begin with, I am not sure what kinds of safety precautions the venue has in place for searching its patrons; at every concert that I have ever been to, there have been metal detectors and bag searches. Entertainment venues, especially at large crowd event such as this, need to absolutely ensure that nothing like this will happen again.
I have a very personal connection to Jason Aldean as an artist as he was a childhood favorite of mine as he was the artist that really got me into country music. I have been to 3 of his concerts in the past and have tried to see him every time that I can. I can imagine myself in that crowd I've seen those people that go see and love him. I can only imagine the feelings that he and all of his crew must be feeling after this horrible horrible massacre. His music is something that I know bring people together and is such a fun atmosphere to be apart of with the way that he presents himself and cares for his fans. I can imagine the pain that he must be going through but I do know that he will fight and try and do whatever he can to make sure that any and everything is made to make his fans safe in the future for concerts in the future.
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