Las Vegas shooting: Country music stars unite to raise money for victims
The country music community is rallying together after Sunday night's shooting at a Las Vegas concert that left at least 58 dead and more than 500 injured. The gunman opened fire while country music singer Jason Aldean was performing at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
Aldean posted on Instagram: "This world is becoming the kind of place I am afraid to raise my children in."
Monday night's vigil and concert in Nashville was an expression of sorrow and hope and a way of raising money for victims, reports CBS News' Jan Crawford.
Keith Urban, Vince Gill and some of country music's biggest stars took the stage to share their grief.
"They are like family. It's the one thing about country music that's always been at the center of it and that it is community," Urban said.
It all took place less than 24 hours after the gunman opened fire on tens of thousands of country music fans at the festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Influential country radio personality Bobby Bones performed at the festival Saturday night.
"For us, I think the most fun festival that we've ever played," Bones said.
But Monday morning on his radio show, he spoke with country star Jake Owen, who performed Sunday night, about the scene of horror.
"It went on for at least five minutes straight," Owen said.
"I'm sad and I'm confused and I'm angry," Bones said.
Caleb Keeter, a guitarist for the Josh Abbott Band, who was also there Sunday night, said the experience changed his political views on gun laws.
"I have been a proponent of the 2nd Amendment my entire life. Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was," he wrote on Twitter. "We need gun control RIGHT. NOW."
Other artists left politics aside, offering messages of unity.
Maren Morris, who performed at the festival on Saturday, released a song she wrote three years ago featuring Vince Gill.
"Dear Hate, I saw you on the news today," the lyrics go.
The stars hope music can start the healing.
"The fans will persevere. We'll be there to help them and the music will be right behind them," Bones said.
Morris is one of the many country music stars raising money for victims of the attack. All proceeds from her new song will go to the charity Music City Cares. In the coming weeks there will be more of country music banding together to raise money for people they consider family.
