When the Recording Academy announced a group of country stars will honor the fallen victims of the Las Vegas massacre at the 2018 GRAMMYs, we already knew it was going to be one of the most touching moments of the night.
Maren Morris, Eric Church and Brothers Osborne came together for the performance, whose strength rendered in its simplicity. With just a few stools, acoustic guitars and their warm vocals, the country singers used their emotion to channel the pain and grief these families felt upon hearing the harrowing news. Their song of choice, Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," was also notable as the artist won the GRAMMY awards Record, Song and Best Pop Vocal Performance Male for the tune (which he wrote for his late son). The names of the victims, along with drawings and positive notes, glowed in orange displays behind the performers.
Church, Morris and the Brothers Osborne were all performers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival last October, where an exciting event for country music lovers quickly turned into unexpected tragedy. During Jason Aldean's headlining set, a gunman identified as Stephen Paddock took aim at the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. 58 people were killed and more than 700 wounded in what is now the United States' worst mass shooting in modern-day history.