Eric Church debuted “Why Not Me”, a song he wrote to honor those that were affected by the Las Vegas shooting. He performed it at the Grand Ole Opry, last Wednesday, October 4.

Church played the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sept. 29, just two days before the shooting occurred. Before performing the new song at the Grand Ole Opry, Church said, “I was a headliner, and I looked out into that crowd in that place, it was our last show of the year… I was so moved by it, mainly because I looked at them and thought ‘This is my crowd, I’ve seen this crowd all year. They’re mine,’ and 48 hours later those places where I stood was carnage. Those were my people, those were my fans.”

“I didn’t wanna be here tonight,” Church said, “I didn’t want to play guitar. I didn’t want to walk on stage but last night somebody sent me a video of a lady named Heather Milton.”

Heather Milton was a survivor from the shooting’s although her husband was not. Her husband, Sonny Milton, was shot protecting his wife. He lied on top of her body.

Heather Milton has been wearing Sonny’s Eric Church shirt, his favorite, since he passed. She has appeared on many news broadcasts telling her story, all while wearing Sonny’s shirt.

The couple went to the festival specifically to see Church. Heather Milton said, “That was his guy.” They planned on seeing Church at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville on October 4.

Church went on to say, “Over in section three row F. If you’re there, there are some empty seats and that is their seats. I’m gonna tell you something. The reason I’m here tonight is because of Heather Milton, her husband Sonny, who died, and every person who was there… I saw that crowd. I saw them with their hands in the air, I saw them with boots in the air, and what I saw in that moment in time that was frozen, no amount of bullets can take away. None.”

The crowd responded with a jovial cheer but quickly hushed as Church said, “That night something broke in me. Something happened and the only way I’ve ever fixed anything that has been broken in me is with music so I wrote a song.”

His song comes to a close with, “I’ll ask the god of my salvation, why you, and why not me?”