Jason Aldean Reflects On His Emotional Journey After Route 91 Tragedy

Jason Aldean candidly opened up about the tragedy that took place nearly a decade ago at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Aldean joined actor and comedian Dax Shepard as a guest on the Armchair Expert podcast this week. During their conversation Shepard asked Aldean about the festival and how it impacted him afterward (acknowledging that he “fully (wants) to respect” that Aldean doesn’t like to talk about it). The reigning Academy of Country Music Artist of the Decade was in the midst of his performance when the event took place on October 1, 2017. Sixty people died and more than 800 others were injured during the tragedy.

The country star said he and his team were “shell shocked” in the aftermath of the incident, including throughout the following week. Aldean said he returned home after Las Vegas on Monday, and received a call to perform on Saturday Night Live on Thursday. He admitted he felt conflicted because he’d “always wanted” to play on SNL, but the timing was difficult one week after the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Aldean agreed to appear on the show if he could say what he wanted to say, and then returned to Las Vegas to visit with the victims in the hospital, he told Shepard.