Jason Aldean opens ‘Saturday Night Live’ with tribute to Las Vegas victims

Country star Jason Aldean returned to the stage on Saturday, nearly a week after a gunman killed 59 people and injured nearly 500 more during Aldean’s performance at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas.

Aldean opened this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” with a monologue addressing the shooting, calling it “one of the worst tragedies in American history.”

“Like everyone, I’m struggling to understand what happened that night and how to pick up the pieces and start to heal. So many people are hurting,” Aldean said.

“We hurt for you and we hurt with you, but you can be sure we’re going walk through these tough times together every step of the way,” he added.

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Aldean then performed a rendition of “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Petty died on Monday at the age of 66 after suffering cardiac arrest.