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Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Lee Brice, RaeLynn and many others shared tributes to Charlie Kirk after the conservative activist’s “heartbreaking” death on Wednesday (September 10). He was 31.
An unidentified suspect struck Kirk while he speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Kirk was pronounced dead at the hospital, President Donald Trump confirmed. Authorities have since released a person of interest who was taken into custody, and the suspect remains at large as of publication time on Thursday (September 11). However, officials say the suspect “appears to be of college age,” and “blended in” at Utah State University. The FBI released photos of a person of interest on Thursday.
Since then, many in the country music community have shared reactions and tributes mourning Kirk’s loss.
“My heart aches for his family,” Lauren Alaina wrote on her Instagram story. “My heart aches for this country. My heart aches for change. let’s lift his wife and children up in prayer.”
“It’s been a hard day not only in our family, but all over the country,” Aldean said. “Charlie Kirk was one of the kindest, smartest and bravest people I’ve ever met. I’m honored to have met and spoke with him on a few occasions. He was a man of peace and wanted nothing but the best for our country and its youth. We might have lost Charlie today but what he has done will live on forever. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, kids and the entire Kirk family.”
Aldean’s wife, Brittany Aldean, wrote in her own tribute: “This is a heartbreak so many of us will never get over. Charlie was a father, husband, son, friend and so much more. One of the most intelligent people we’ve ever met, fighting for everything right in this world. He put everything on the line to be a voice for those who weren’t able. I admired him. His courage, his intelligence, his faith…. there will truly never be another like him. Charlie you will forever be missed. Trying to find peace in the fact that he’s in heaven shining down on us all, because man he loved Jesus and there’s no doubt that’s what he’s doing❤️💔 Accepted into the arms of Jesus as a good & faithful servant🙏🏼”
Kane Brown admitted “I don’t know what to say,” in a video he posted on Instagram on Wednesday evening (warning: language). “At the end of the day, dude, all I want is everybody to love each other. That’s really all I want. …Just love each other. If you see somebody down, please pick them up. I’ve been crying for two hours. …Now, I’m just getting mad. …I don’t do politics. That’s not for me. I just want y’all to love each other, bro. It’s really not that hard.”
Brantley Gilbert said he’d “written and deleted” the message on his Instagram story “more times than I can count” before he shared it on Wednesday evening. “To be transparent, I’m angry, and I won’t hypocritically preach against hate while harboring it in my heart. …If you want to find content addressing tragedies like those we’ve seen in the past couple of days, if you want to hear data and research from both sides of the argument, and if you want to see an intelligent man who loves his country, encourages his opponents to debate him while exercising their First Amendment rights without bloodshed, search ‘Charlie Kirk’…before today.”
“My heart is shattered for this family,” Hannah Mooney, wife of Dan + Shay star Shay Mooney, wrote on her story with a photo of the Kirk family. “He was an uncompromising voice of truth in a world that hates it. God, cover his wife, children, and loved ones in your incomprehensible peace.”
Jake Owen said “I cried,” and “I keep thinking about his wife and little children. My thoughts go out to them and this entire country that is really fragile right now. I believe there is good in this world and this isn’t going to change my mind.”
Brittney Kelley, married to singer-songwriter Brian Kelley, remembered Kirk as “one of the rare voices in our time who welcomed tough questions and open dialogue instead of shying away from disagreement.” She said, in part, that “Charlie’s voice and example live on, and it is now our responsibility to carry that torch: to speak boldly, stand firm, and spread the word, even when it is frightening. More than ever, we are called to rise with courage and stand together.”
Hayley Hubbard, wife of country artist Tyler Hubbard, shared a statement on her Instagram story from The Way Forward founder Alec Zeck, who encouraged others to “please pray for him [Kirk], his wife, and children.” Nate Smith said on his Instagram story, “whoever you stand for, whatever you believe, please join me in prayer for the Kirk family.” Similarly, Carly Pearce said “regardless of your views, this is so heartbreaking. Praying. Please Lord make it stop.” Gabby Barrett offered prayers to the activist’s family after his “sickening” death at the Utah event. Lee Brice paid tribute to Kirk in a faith-based statement on Wednesday. Jana Kramer said she was “praying for Charlie Kirk’s wife, children and family.” Summer Pardi, married to country artist Jon Pardi, offered prayers after the “so horrific and sad” incident. Cole Swindell and his wife shared heartfelt tributes, and admitted “I just can’t wrap my head around it.” Sara Evans said Kirk’s death is “beyond all comprehension.”
“I don’t even know what to say anymore,” Parker McCollum said in a post on Instagram. “Charlie was one of the greatest young patriots this country has ever seen. Thank you for standing up for what so many of us believe so strongly. May God have mercy on your soul and watch over your precious family. 🇺🇸”
“Well done, good and faithful servant,” Amber Smith, married to After MidNite host Granger Smith, posted on Instagram. “Our hearts break at the evil of this fallen world, but we rejoice in the hope of heaven and that now he sees his Savior face to face. Praying for his family, friends, colleagues and the people in attendance at the event today. Jesus is our only hope in life and death. 🤍” Smith ended her post with a quote from theologian John MacArthur: “All death can do to the believer is deliver him to Jesus.”
LeAnn Rimes said her “beautiful stepson” wrote a statement that she “couldn’t agree (with) more,” stating that “the senseless violence in this country is terrible. …Prayers for anyone affected by recent events.”
“I have empathy for Charlie Kirk and his wife and two children. I will never not feel empathy for anyone who is struck down for speaking up for what they believe,” Sheryl Crow said in a statement on her Instagram story on Thursday. “I feel empathy for all of us. we have been made to believe we are enemies by the very people who hold power. There is no leader who probates division that is worth supporting and yet, it is happening. Yes, guns are part of the problem but we need to wake up, turn off our algorithms that affirm to us that the other side is ruining our country, and demand a better future for our children. Watch as politicians place blame on the other side for Charlie’s death, for the death of the Hortmons, for the shooting at Annunciation and Evergreen and on and on. It is their way of dividing us. this has to stop and we must be a better nation than this.”
Chris Lane remembered Kirk as an “incredibly gifted speaker,” and “it’s sickening to know his wife and kids will never get to see him again…There will never be another.”
“This breaks my heart,” Mitchell Tenpenny wrote. “This isn’t the country I grew up in. This isn’t it. Praying for this family.”
“My beautiful, courageous, incredible and Godly friend lost her husband and her two beautiful babies lost their father today,” RaeLynn said with a photo of herself with Kirk's wife. “He was shot not while holding a weapon but by holding a microphone. He didn’t attack anyone he just spoke and debated people using a right we all have which is freedom of speech. Jesus please cover this family and be with Erika. ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live’ John 11:25 💔🙏”
Zac Brown Band’s frontman wrote on his Instagram story that his “heart goes out to the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. He was a great American who stood up for what he believed in and created a space for folks of all beliefs to do the same. This horrific display of violence is heartbreaking, and I’m sending love to everyone who knew him.”
“Yesterday was heartbreaking and this morning, my heart is heavy still. On this 9/11, we pause as a nation to remember lives lost, but our grief is layered. We are mourning Charlie, and we are mourning the children and families torn apart by yet another school shooting,” Brett Young wrote in a post on Thursday. “It’s hard not to cry out, Lord, how long? How long will violence steal innocence, how long will hate silence voices of truth, how long will families be broken by loss?
“Charlie wasn’t just a voice-he was a friend, a father, a husband, a son,” Young continued. “He carried conviction like a flame, unafraid to speak truth, not for fame or applause, but because he believed courage mattered. He lived with purpose, and he was taken from us while standing for the very things this world needs more of: faith, integrity, and love. He was loved deeply-by his family, by his friends, by countless hearts who were inspired by his life. So today, hold your children tighter. Call the ones you’ve been meaning to call. Say “I love you” without hesitation. Tomorrow is never promised, but today we can choose gratitude, courage, and love.
“[Charlie Kirk] you will be missed on this earth, but we take comfort in knowing this goodbye is not forever. Rest now in the arms of Jesus, where every tear is wiped away and every broken heart is made whole.”