Jason Aldean attends the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and pays tribute to the first respondents and those lost during the Vegas shooting last October. (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage)
Jason Aldean is paying tribute to the victims and first responders of the deadly Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting.
During the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas Friday, the country star, along with radio personality Bobby Bones, introduced a video honoring everyone impacted by the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, as well as, the individuals who helped out in the aftermath.
"Tonight, we salute the city of Las Vegas," Bones said as he and Aldean were joined on stage by police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians.
"These men and women up here on the stage with me tonight represent just some of the brave first responders who reacted selflessly on 1 October," he continued.
"They represent the spirit. They represent the strength. They represent the resilience of the entire city, and they represent the unbreakable resolve of this great country that we live in."
Echoed Aldean: "On behalf of myself, my family and my family in the country music community, I want to say thank you to the city of Las Vegas for your courage, strength and kindness. Tonight, we are all proud to be Vegas Strong."
LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 21: Jason Aldean (center L) and Bobby Bones (center R) speak onstage with first responders during the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia) (2018 Getty Images)
Backstage, Aldean, 41, told reporters that Oct. 1st is "a day that's hard to forget."
"For us, it's been a daily thing," Aldean, who was performing at the Route 91 Harvest festival last October when the gunfire erupted, said.
"Every night in our meet and greets, we're meeting fans who were here at that show. I don't think we've played a show that we haven't had some of the survivors come out to that show."
With the 1-year anniversary less than two weeks away, Aldean noted that for him he's been connecting with his fans on "a daily basis not because the anniversary is coming up."
"Every year October 1st rolls around that's going to be something we remember and that sticks with us from now on... It's a day that's hard to forget."
The singer went on to say that "being back in Vegas this close to the anniversary of it, it's, at times, a little weird," however, "in another sense it's nice to be back."
"This is really our first performance we've had since then," says Aldean. "Tonight is going to be another step in getting through all of that stuff, and coming back here, I think, is going to be a big part of it."
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