Eric Church and Maren Morris will lead a tribute during the Grammys to the country music fans who lost their lives at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.
The singers will be joined by The Brothers Osborne onstage at Madison Square Garden in New York to honour those killed when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on the concert crowd in October (17).
All three acts participated in the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
"Live music events have always provided a safe space for fans to gather in a shared celebration of music. Sadly, that wasn’t always the case this past year," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "We believe it’s incredibly important to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in these senseless tragedies and to remind musicians and music lovers alike that live music will continue to be a powerful force that unites us all."
Grammys' executive producer Ken Ehrlich has yet to reveal the song the country stars will perform, but he insists the musical tribute will be a poignant one.
"We considered a number of songs," he said. "We wanted something that is universal. We wanted something that spoke to the subject, which certainly this song does. When you listen to the lyric, this one certainly stood out."
Church, who performed on the first night of the festival, said the victims of the shooting, which occurred while Jason Aldean was headlining on the final night, are always on his mind.
"In all honesty, there's not a day that goes by since that day that I have not thought of it and thought of the people and the victims," he explained. "That being our last show of the year, I took it in differently than I have maybe taken in other shows. I savoured it. I remember everything about it."
Morris, who has a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance, thanked Grammy bosses for marking the tragedy.
"It (the tribute) reinforces even more the strength of music and the community that we all share together, artists and fans alike," she added.
As previously reported, Elton John and Miley Cyrus will team up at the Grammys for a performance of two of the Rocket Man singer's hits, and others singing live at the ceremony on 28 January (18) include Cardi B, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Kesha, Khalid, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Little Big Town, Bruno Mars, U2, and Sam Smith.
