Rascal Flatts ‘Make a Statement’ at Opening Night of Las Vegas Residency
Rascal Flatts launched their new residency at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Friday night (Oct. 6) with a powerful speech addressing the recent mass shooting, saying, "No matter what, we're not going to let evil win."
The trio came out onstage to address the audience before they played the first song of their set on opening night of the Rascal Flatts — A Night to Shine residency at the 1,800-seat Venetian Theatre. They thanked them for coming out in the wake of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, that left at least 58 people dead and nearly 500 more wounded.
“There are no words that can adequately express the confusion, the frustration, the sadness, the pain and the anger that we all deal with when we’re faced with unspeakable evil such as the events that unfolded just a few nights ago in this city," Jay DeMarcus told the fans.
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Joe Don Rooney admitted that he and his bandmates "struggled" with whether they should move forward with the residency or not.
"But we quickly came to the conclusion that, no matter what, we’re not going to let evil win," he told the crowd to rousing applause, adding, "We're here tonight, and the rest of this residency, to make a statement."
Singer Gary LeVox turned to his faith when he addressed the fans, reflecting, "You know, in the Bible, it talks about beauty from ashes. Well, there’s a lot of beauty that’s going to come from these ashes."
Rascal Flatts announced their decision to move forward with the Venetian residency in Las Vegas in a post to social media on Friday, writing, "Our hearts are in Vegas, and we will perform our shows there in honor of the victims. Our hope is to bring some light to such a dark time and offer any sort of healing we can through music. We’re donating to the Las Vegas Victim’s Fund, and encourage anyone who is able to do the same. We are all in this together."
Rascal Flatts — A Night to Shine has more shows scheduled on Oct. 7, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20 and 21.
Fans who would like to donate to the Las Vegas Victims' Fund can do so by visiting the organization's GoFundMe page.
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