Miranda Lambert Marks 5th Anniversary Of Route 91 Tragedy With Heartfelt Tribute Performance & Vegas Strong 5K

Miranda Lambert, her husband Brendan McLoughlin and her entire band/crew participated in the 2022 Vegas Strong 5k/1M running event on Sunday (Oct. 2) to remember all those who lost their lives in the mass shooting that took place during Route 91 Harvest Festival. The 5k/1M running event took place just one day after the five-year anniversary of the tragic event, which took place on October 1, 2017.

The country superstar took to social media following the event to share photos of herself alongside her husband and band/crew, all of whom were wearing Vegas Strong t-shirts and showed up to support those affected by the horrible tragedy. 

“Band and crew up early this morning to be part of the Vegas Strong 5k/1M to commemorate the 5th anniversary of Oct 1, Route 91 Harvest Festival,” Lambert wrote on Instagram. “Sending love and light to all the victims, survivors, first responders, our live nation family, and all of those affected. 💙 #vegasstrong”

McLoughlin also shared a series of photos and a clip from the event, which he captioned, “Such a great day participating in the Vegas Strong 5k/1M. Commemorating the 5th anniversary to those that were lost and in honor of the survivors and first responders of One October Route 91 Harvest Festival.”

His post included a video of himself running in the 5K race, wearing headphones and workout clothes, high-fiving his wife as he ran past her and the rest of the Lambert team.

Lambert is currently in the Sin City for her Las Vegas residency, dubbed Velvet Rodeo, which kicked off on September 24 at Zappos Theater inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and runs through April 2023.

The Texas native was sure to honor the victims of the Route 91 Harvest Festival tragedy with a heartfelt tribute performance of “Tin Man” on Saturday evening (Oct. 1), which marked the fifth anniversary of the tragic Las Vegas shooting.

As she performed the heart-wrenching ballad, the names of all those who lost their lives during the tragic event were displayed on the screen behind her for a special “In Memoriam” segment.

“Hey there, Mr. Tin Man / You don’t know how lucky you are / I been on the road that you’re on / It didn’t get me very far / You ain’t missin’ nothing / ‘Cause love is so damn hard / Take it from me, darlin’ / You don’t want a heart,” Lambert sang on the tune’s chorus, surrounded by striking beams of light in the center of the theater, making for a chilling moment of her set on Saturday evening.

The massacre occurred during Jason Aldean’s headlining performance at Route 91 Harvest Festival on October 1, 2017, when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire at the capacity crowd from his suite on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. Paddock fired over 1,000 shots and killed 60 concertgoers as well as wounded over 850 others. The tragedy remains the deadliest non-war mass shooting in American history.

The 2022 Vegas Strong 5k/1M race, which takes place at Craig Ranch Regional Park in Las Vegas, is an annual event that has happened yearly since the tragedy occurred. The event commemorates the anniversary of One October and remembers all of those who lost their lives. Participants run and walk in memory of those we lost and in honor of the survivors and the first responders.

All net proceeds from the annual event are donated to ongoing One October victim funds as well as other Las Vegas community needs.

See how the funds from the 5k race are being donated below (via jusrun.com):

• Vegas Strong Compassion Scholarship: This fund will provide scholarships to children who are survivors of the 58 people who lost their lives during the tragic events of October 1, 2017
• Vegas Strong Future First Responders’ Scholarship: This scholarship is open to high school seniors who are pursuing post-secondary education to become a first responder in policing, firefighting, healthcare, nonprofit or government disaster relief.
• Vegas Strong Resiliency Center: It is a place of healing and support dedicated to serving as a resource and referral center for residents, visitors and responders affected by the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
• Las Vegas Healing Garden/Remembrance Wall: Maintenance for the upkeep of this beautiful garden which features a wall of remembrance, a grove of trees, shrubs, flowers, walkways of pavers and benches – all to create something beautiful out of something horrific.