Maren Morris performed during Day 2 of the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 30, one day before a gunman opened fire on the crowd during Jason Aldean’s headlining set, killing 59 people and injuring more than 500.
On Oct. 2, Maren released a new song, “Dear Hate,” and stated that some of the proceeds from the song will benefit the Music City Cares Fund, which was established by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to support the victims of the Las Vegas massacre. “Dear Hate,” which features vocals from Vince Gill, will be available for download on Friday, Oct. 6.
Maren talked to morning show Ty, Kelly & Chuck today (Oct. 3) for a segment that is slated to air on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 5:40 a.m. CT and 8:40 a.m. CT.
Maren told hosts Ty Bentli and Kelly Ford that “Dear Hate,” which she co-penned with Tom Douglas and David Hodges, was inspired by the Charleston shooting on June 17, 2015. During the shooting, a domestic terrorist opened fire on members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing nine adults.
“It’s sad, but we wrote it after the [Charleston] shooting,” said Maren. “Neither my co-writers or I wanted to really write that day, but Tom [Douglas] just had that title, ‘Dear Hate,’ and we got to talking and all of the sudden this song started forming—this really beautiful poem—and we just kind of fiddled around with some chords. By the end of the day, the demo was done and recorded. We just kind of all sat back and were out of breath, I think, from just how powerful the message was. It’s just such a particular theme and subject and it just never felt like the right time to release it [until now] because it is such a powerful message.”
Tune in to Ty, Kelly & Chuck on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 5:40 a.m. CT and 8:40 a.m. CT to hear Maren’s full interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=tUPR5-igTVY
