Miranda Lambert took the stage in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday night (Oct. 3) — not only her first show since the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting on Sunday night (Oct. 1), but also the first concert by a major country music artist after the shooting. Throughout the night, Lambert was open about the tragedy and tried to comfort those in the audience who needed it.
“I’ve spent the last few days with a heavy heavy heart. And I know there are more days like that to come,” Lambert posted on Instagram before taking the stage. “But in keeping with the mindset that music is medicine, we are gonna go on stage tonight in Edmonton, AB and celebrate family, friends and community with some country music. And remember all the light and joy it can bring. It’s a healer.”
An Edmonton resident is among the more than 50 people who died in the shooting, which also left more than 500 people wounded. At some point during Lambert’s show, a young boy held up a sign asking for a hug, and she invited him onstage and delivered on the request.
“We all need a damn hug today, don’t we?” Lambert said after embracing the young boy. Before Lambert played her recent hit “Tin Man,” she also talked about the tragedy.
“I think part of what we do is try to make people feel all the feelings, because that’s what music is. It’s medicine right?” she said. “Can you hold up a light for our friends in Vegas tonight?”
During Lambert’s performance of “Over You” — often an emotional moment — Edmonton radio host Chris Scheetz tells Taste of Country that the country star and much of the audience was crying.
“That was it for her, that was it for me, that was it for my wife, that was it for the other thousands of people in the crowd,” Scheetz says. “They were ugly crying, too. We were all just kind of doing it together. It was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had in my over 28 years of working in radio and being in concerts.”
Lambert is among a number of country artists who have spoken out following the Route 91 Harvest Festival tragedy and offered up tributes to those affected.
Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims
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