We won’t back down

For us here at The Music Hall, an act of domestic terror at a concert shakes us to the core. For something so horrible to happen at an event that was meant to cause so much joy is simply impossible to comprehend. As I struggled to make sense of this, I began to read the articles about the people who literally stood in front of bullets. Who without thinking about it, sacrificed their lives for their loved ones and strangers. As I thought about this, and how in the face of unspeakable evil, there were shining lights of pure good heros, all that came to mind was “you can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down.”

Later that day as the news of Tom Petty started to swirl around the internet, I found myself once again grasping to make sense of it with my coworkers. As everyone on my social media streams began to mourn this legend, it struck me how two senseless tragedies brought people together. For the first time in recent memory my newsfeeds were full of love. Hearts for Las Vegas, favorite song lyrics from Tom Petty, we collectively mourned, and we collectively supported each other through a difficult time, we commended the acts of heroics, and we celebrated the music that for many of us was a soundtrack to our lives. For a Country so divided, we we united, compassionate, and kind. When faced with evil, we countered it with good.

As the day went on I realized that while we’ve seen more attacks at concert venues, we refuse to back down. We sing along with our favorite artists, we celebrate great music, we don’t back down. The arts bring people together, inspire people to make it through dark times and when faced with darkness, to find the light and that’s why I am so proud to play such a small part in them.