On the morning of Sunday, June 12, thousands of country music fans in Nashville awoke, ready to head out and enjoy the last day of CMA Fest. However, that excitement quickly took a step back as news broke out about the terror attack in Orlando, Florida that happened overnight as they lay sleeping. Pulse Nightclub, a gay dance club, was senselessly attacked, leaving 49 innocent lives lost and 53 others hospitalized.
Everywhere you went you heard people talking about the atrocity that occurred or in catching a glimpse of someone’s smartphone, you could see various news headlines as everyone was searching for updates and answers.
But music is a cathartic tool, and fans and artists alike used the remaining day of the festival to help heal; whether you knew someone directly or not, we all as Americans were affected by this horrible situation.
About mid-day, the reigning ACM Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town tweeted that they would sing “Miracle” later that night at Nissan Stadium in tribute to those suffering in Orlando:
We’ll sing this for Orlando tonight. #prayfororlando
❤️💛💚💙💜 pic.twitter.com/zHaff2JpI9— Little Big Town (@littlebigtown) June 12, 2016
Prior to singing “Miracle,” Karen Fairchild gave an amazing, inspiring speech describing the song’s background and declaring that no one is going to control when, where or how we sing:
Pharrell Williams, who produced LBT’s upcoming album Wanderlust, joined the band on percussion, and in the group’s bow of appreciation to the crowd.
Closing out the night was Luke Bryan, who also took time to dedicate a moment of silence to those in Orlando before singing an extremely emotional “Drink a Beer.”