Jason Aldean Releases ‘I Won’t Back Down’ Cover to Benefit Route 91 Victims
Jason Aldean's cover of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" is now available for purchase and streaming, to benefit victims of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. The song is now available via iTunes, Spotify and other services.
Aldean's version of "I Won't Back Down" that is available for download is the one he performed on Saturday Night Live on Oct. 7, less than one week after a gunman opened fire on the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival during Aldean's festival-closing set on the night of Oct. 1. All of the money raised through sales and streams of the track will be given to the Direct Impact Fund, which will go to victims of the shooting.
Aldean is also selling "We Won't Back Down" T-shirts, featuring that phrase from Petty's song in a Las Vegas-inspired design, on his official website. Proceeds from the T-shirts will benefit the Direct Impact Fund as well.
Aldean canceled three tour dates -- scheduled for Oct. 6, 7 and 8 -- following the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, “out of respect for the victims, their families and our fans.” His Oct. 7 appearance on SNL, during the show's "cold open" slot, was a surprise. On Wednesday night (Oct. 18), Aldean, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban and Little Big Town performed "I Won't Back Down" during the 2017 CMT Artists of the Year ceremony.
On Oct. 8, Aldean and his wife Brittany -- who was also at the Route 91 Harvest Festival during the shooting -- returned to Las Vegas, Nev., to visit with some of the victims of the tragedy. Aldean resumed his tour on Oct. 12, in Tulsa, Okla.
Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims