John Legend performs in Dayton to honor Oregon District shooting victims

John Legend performs in Dayton to honor Oregon District shooting victims

Springfield native John Legend gave a surprise concert for survivors and victims' families at Blind Bob’s on Sunday during a visit to the Oregon District. The performance was streamed live from the popular downtown tavern in the district, just steps from the site of the August 4 mass shooting that claimed nine lives and injured nearly 30 others.

A post on Instagram read "I just played a few songs to try to help bring comfort to some of the survivors of last week's tragedy in Dayton. My heart breaks for everyone who lost someone. I love how everyone rallies around one another during their time of grief. But our nation should not keep putting ourselves through these preventable traumas. Let's fix it together."

Legend played several songs on the piano, including hits "Save Room", "Ordinary People", and "All of Me", which he dedicated to the city, as well as moving renditions of the Simon and Garfunkel classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water", and The Beatles "Here Comes The Sun".

Scroll down to watch the full video.

Legend calls for urgent gun reform

Earlier, Legend visited multiple shops in the Oregon District, before holding a news conference with Mayor Nan Whaley in which he called for urgent gun reform. 

“My direct message to legislators, to the president, to all of them, is the NRA doesn’t represent America,” he said, citing polling reflecting the nation’s strong support of universal background checks and a ban of assault weapons. “How many more people have to be killed for us to realize that this isn’t working? If you claim to represent the interests of the American people, then you need to be doing your job in a way that makes everyone safer.”

“We have to be able to live without the fear of being shot," Legend said. "We don’t have to live like this.”

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