58°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

ACMs return to Las Vegas for first time since Oct. 1 shooting

His father was a first responder, so when tragedy struck, responding was in his blood.

Rising country singer Michael Ray was one of the first Route 91 Harvest performers to come back to Las Vegas in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 1 massacre.

The 29-year-old Floridian, who played the opening night of the festival, returned to town to visit with and play for numerous survivors in local hospitals as part of the Musicians on Call program.

He has performed in Las Vegas since, most recently headlining Stoney’s Rockin’ Country in February.

The Academy of Country Music Awards and the Party for a Cause charitable concert series return to Las Vegas this weekend for the first time since Oct. 1. Ray will be among the many country musicians and industry figures coming to Las Vegas under decidedly different circumstances than during past ACM weekends.

“I think it’s going to be the event that helps start that moving-things-forward process,” says Ray, who will play a Party for a Cause show Friday at the Sandbar Pool at Red Rock Resort. “When you’re there, you do feel kind of like the sun’s shining back through the clouds a little bit.”

This year’s festivities demand a balancing act between revelry and remembrance, fun and reflection.

For ACM Awards CEO Pete Fisher, this means not shying away from addressing the Route 91 tragedy, even in a time of celebration.

“We wouldn’t be authentic if we just came out and said, ‘Let’s have a party,’ ” Fisher says. “We’ll have a moment in the show where we will recognize the tragedy, but quickly help people move to hope and healing and partying. We want to meet people where their hearts are.”

‘The artists will do the right thing’

Expect emotions to run high Sunday night when the ACMs take over the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Country superstar Jason Aldean will take the stage in Las Vegas for the first time since shots rang out during his set at Route 91.

Fisher wants performers to share their emotions authentically, as opposed to trying to script or manage their responses.

“We want the artists to speak freely, what’s on their hearts and minds,” Fisher says. “Certainly there are things to orchestrate, but in addition to having that moment where we recognize the tragedy and the victims and the first responders, we know that the artists will do the right thing because of their authenticity and their ability to connect with the audience.”

The run-up to the ACMs will again feature a bevy of shows affiliated with Party for a Cause, which kicks off Thursday and has grown to 18 events at 13 venues.

Proceeds from the shows benefit Lifting Lives, the academy’s charitable arm.

Some of these funds have been distributed locally since Oct. 1. Fisher says that $400,000 has been donated over the past six months to organizations such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation and to open a permanent chapter here of Musicians on Call.

Musical therapy

Party for a Cause’s benefits are meant to be felt mentally as much as financially, says Erick Long, who oversees the concert series as ACM senior vice president of operations and events.

“People are getting to a point of, ‘Look, we don’t want to let this cloud stay over us,’ ” Long says. “We want to move forward, with reverence. I think people are ready to peek their heads out a little bit and celebrate country music.”

Plenty of this celebrating will take place at Stoney’s Rockin’ Country, which again hosts its Tailgate Party concert series Friday and Saturday in its parking lot at Town Square.

Stoney’s has served as a sanctuary of sorts for Route 91 survivors and victims’ friends and family members. It hosted an intensely emotional night of remembrance less than a week after the tragedy, where relatives paid tribute to their lost loved ones and strangers hugged strangers in a communal display of grief.

Stoney’s marketing director Jeff “Toad” Higginbotham acknowledges that he and Stoney’s founder Chris Lowden considered calling off the Tailgate Party this year, given the circumstances, but decided that the shows must go on.

“We felt that it’s important to continue to progress with life in light of the horrible situation of Route 91,” Lowden says.

Higginbotham notes that a number of fans will be attending their first outdoor music event since Oct. 1.

“The people who I’ve been in touch with, all of them are looking forward to coming to this as their first concert since Route 91, because it’s a familiar place for them,” Higginbotham says. “I think that’s been the overall gist for them, getting out, getting back in the community.”

It all culminates Sunday, when the ACMs mark their 15th year here in a year like no other.

“I think we all recognize how important this show is,” Fisher says. “Every show is important, but this is a very special moment in time.”

Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow @JasonBracelin on Twitter.

THE LATEST