Ever since The Killers first broke onto the international scene more than a decade ago, the rock band has always been intrinsically linked to their hometown of Las Vegas. So it hasn’t taken long for frontman Brandon Flowers to reflect on Sunday’s tragic events at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, where 59 people were killed and hundreds of others injured in the deadliest mass shooting in our country’s modern history.
The Killers first tweeted a message on Monday as the shooting made global headlines, writing: “We’ve got heavy hearts. We love you, Las Vegas.”
We've got heavy hearts. We love you, Las Vegas.
— The Killers (@thekillers) October 2, 2017
This afternoon (October 4), Flowers posted a longer message online, penning a heartfelt tribute to both his city and the shooting’s victims and survivors.
“I’m a Vegas boy,” Flowers writes on his band’s Facebook page. “I always have been and—even though I just moved my wife and kids to Utah—I always will be. This past Sunday on a flight home from Australia, I flew over my hometown. Forehead to the window I looked down on Las Vegas and felt a prick of nostalgia. I thought about my mother buried below, I thought about my friends in Henderson, and I even traced Flamingo road down to where it meets the 95 and pin pointed my high school, Chaparral. I could see the city as a whole, but I couldn’t look close enough to see what was about to unfold. It’s hard to believe it’s real.”
Flowers continued: “My prayers go out to those whose lives were taken and to everyone else affected by this nightmare. I’m devastated for my community and for all of the people who gather together to see live music. Some of the happiest moments of my life have happened at concerts. They are a rite of passage, a holy communion, or just the kind of escape from the stress and the grind of daily life that so many people need. My heart swells when I hear the stories of people putting their lives on the line to help each other — defying the stereotypes of what people say Las Vegas is all about. We’re all long lost brothers and sisters. I miss my town, I miss my mom, I miss these victims I didn’t even know, but I look forward to getting together with you real soon to keep their memory alive.”
The Killers bring their Vegas to Boston when they play TD Garden on January 7. Featured Killers photo by Anton Corbijn.