Country Stars Paid a Moving Tribute to Las Vegas and Manchester Victims at the Grammys

During Sunday night’s 60th Annual Grammy Awards in New York City, country stars Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne and Eric Church took time out of the celebration to pay tribute to victims of violence at live music events over the course of the last year, including the devastating Las Vegas concert shooting.

All three performers were in attendance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in October, where 58 lives were lost at the hand of gunman Stephen Paddock. Outside of the Las Vegas shooting, 2017 also saw the terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester last May. In total, 81 music event attendees passed away due to violence, as Morris noted while introducing the performance. The group then performed Eric Clapton’s touching song “Tears in Heaven.”

“Live music events have always provided a safe space for fans to gather in a shared celebration of music. Sadly, that wasn’t always the case this past year,” explained Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy, in a statement shared before the ceremony. “We believe it’s incredibly important to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in these senseless tragedies and to remind musicians and music lovers alike that live music will continue to be a powerful force that unites us all.”

Both Morris and Brothers Osborne were up for awards during the evening, for for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, while Church is a past Grammy nominee.