Country music singer Jason Aldean took to the stage in New Orleans on Thursday, performing in his first outdoor concert since his Las Vegas show became a target for a mass shooting that killed 58 people.
He took on a defiant tone that resonated with the 7,000 fans in attendance, Nola.com reported.
“I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone scare me,” Aldean told the crowd, which gathered in Champions Square.
As if to emphasize the point, Aldrean sang the late Tom Petty's “I Won't Back Down,” which energized the crowd into a sing-along of defiance, Nola.com reported.
Aldean said proceeds from the sale of his cover of the song will be donated to aid victims of the Las Vegas shooting.
Aldean admitted to the crowd that “It’s been a crazy few weeks,” explaining how he thought it would be tough to play an outdoor venue after he and his band members were forced to flee the stage at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 as shots rained down from a hotel window.
But “the craziest thing is,” he said, was that playing music “is where we're the most comfortable.”
