Jason Aldean will resume his They Don’t Know Me Tour in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Thursday night (12Oct17), after cancelling several shows following the mass shooting during his set at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas.
The country singer had been performing at the event on 1 October when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowds from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 and injuring more than 500.
Following the tragedy, Jason cancelled three tour dates in California, at The Forum in Los Angeles on 6 October, the Mattress Firm Amphitheatre in San Diego on 7 October and the Honda Centre in Anaheim on 8 October.
He said at the time: “As a result of what happened in Las Vegas this week, we have decided to cancel this coming weekend’s shows. I feel like out of respect for the victims, their families and our fans, it is the right thing to do. It has been an emotional time for everyone involved this week, so we plan to take some time to mourn the ones we have lost and be close with our family and friends.”
Jason said at the time that he was hoping to return to the stage at the BOK Center in Tulsa, and now his comeback has been confirmed. The 40-year-old singer is likely to reference the tragedy upon resuming his tour, and had said in his original statement after the shooting: “Our first time back onstage will be a very tough and emotional thing for us, but we will all get through it together and honour the people we lost by doing the only thing we know how to do – play our songs for them.”
Jason, who ran off stage to safety when the shooting began, has spoken of his horror at the devastating attack, and travelled back to Sin City a week after the tragedy to pay his respects to those who lost their lives and meet survivors of the shooting.