After a gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on October 1st, survivors have had time to reflect on the horrors they experienced. Country music superstar Jason Aldean was performing his set when the violence broke out and has been open about how the mass shooting has impacted him personally. Tragedy struck while Jason was in the midst of working on his eight studio album, Rearview Town.
“Ninety-five percent of this record was recorded before [the shooting] happened,” Jason recently opened up to several media outlets at a press conference. “As far as going back to put an exclamation mark on the record for what happened in Vegas, I didn’t feel the need to do that. The album was cool before that happened, and I still think it’s cool afterwards.”
All but four of Rearview Town’s tracks were recorded before the shooting took place; Jason specifically said that “Ride All Night” and “I’ll Wait For You” were among the four that were recorded after. Even with the songs being recorded after, Jason and his team already had a game plan.
“I didn’t feel the need to go back in and record a “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”-type of moment for the record,” Jason said, referencing Alan Jackson‘s emotional song which will always be linked to the events of 9/11.
Although the music on the Georgia native’s upcoming album will not reflect Route 91, the project is dedicated to everyone who attended the ill-fated event. “We did dedicate that record to the victims and the people that were there,” Jason explaned. “That was just something I wanted to do on a personal note, for me.”
REARVIEW TOWN TRACK LISTING
1. Dirt to Dust
(Jaron Boyer, Ben Stennis, Michael Tyler)
2. Set It Off
(Brandon Kinney, Jody Stevens, Josh Thompson)
3. Girl Like You
(Jaron Boyer, Josh Mirenda, Michael Tyler)
4. You Make It Easy
(Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jordan Schmidt, Morgan Wallen)
5. Gettin’ Warmed Up
(Jaron Boyer, Josh Mirenda, Cole Taylor)
6. Blacktop Gone
(Brett Beavers, Derric Ruttan, Josh Thompson)
7. Drowns the Whiskey (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
(Brandon Kinney, Jeff Middleton, Josh Thompson)
8. Rearview Town
(Kelley Lovelace, Bobby Pinson, Neil Thrasher)
9. Love Me or Don’t
(Tyler Hubbard, Jordan Schmidt, Morgan Wallen)
10. Like You Were Mine
(Kurt Allison, Jonathan Edwards, Tully Kennedy, Brian White)
11. Better at Being Who I Am
(Casey Beathard, Wendall Mobley, Neil Thrasher)
12. I’ll Wait for You
(Nick Brophy, Michael Delaney, Jennifer Hanson, Neil Thrasher)
13. Ride All Night
(Dallas Davidson, Kyle Fishman, Houston Phillips)
14. Up in Smoke
(Jessi Alexander, David Lee Murphy, Chris Stevens)
15. High Noon Neon
(Tony Martin, Lee Miller, Neil Thrasher)
Recently, a Route 91 Harvest Festival survivors group invited the star back to Las Vegas to finish the set he was performing. Jason said that the idea is under consideration, however, “[i]t’s not as easy as snapping your fingers and saying, ‘Okay, we’ll be there next week.'”
“It’s a little bit of a process. We’re talking about it — I can say that. We’ve had the discussion,” he shared. “I completely understand where they’re coming from, and I appreciate the gesture. I appreciate that they want us to come back and finish the show, and that they want to come see it.”
Rearview Town is scheduled for release on April 13th. Share this update with other fans of this star!
