In the months since a gunman opened fire at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more, Jason Aldean has been busy finishing up his upcoming eighth studio album, Rearview Town. The singer, who was in the middle of his festival-closing performance when the shooting occurred, has since spoken out in support of the victims' families and returned to Vegas to visit those injured in the attack ... but the tragedy didn't heavily influence his new music.

"Ninety-five percent of this record was recorded before [the shooting] happened," the country star recently told The Boot and other media outlets at a press conference. "As far as going back to put an exclamation mark on the record for what happened in Vegas, I didn't feel the need to do that. The album was cool before that happened, and I still think it's cool afterwards."

All but four of Rearview Town's songs, in fact, were recorded prior to the Route 91 shooting; during his media event, Aldean specifically mentioned that "Ride All Night" and "I'll Wait for You" were among those final songs, recorded in December. Although that session took place two months after the tragedy, Aldean and his team had already more or less mapped out what those final songs would sound like before it happened.

"I didn't feel the need to go back in and record a "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"-type of moment for the record," Aldean adds.

Still, Rearview Town does have some personal resonance for Aldean as his first studio release since Route 91: "We did dedicate that record to the victims and the people that were there," he says. "That was just something I wanted to do on a personal note, for me."

In recent weeks, a few Route 91 Harvest Festival survivors have come together to invite Aldean back to Vegas to finish his set. The country star says the idea is under consideration, but notes that "[i]t's not as easy as snapping your fingers and saying, 'Okay, we'll be there next week.'"

"It's a little bit of a process. We're talking about it -- I can say that. We've had the discussion," he shares. "I completely understand where they're coming from, and I appreciate the gesture. I appreciate that they want us to come back and finish the show, and that they want to come see it."

Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims

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