‘SNL’ pays tribute to Vegas victims, Petty during opening

Tonight’s full Cold Open with Jason Aldean performing “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty. (Photo: Saturday Night Live/Facebook)

NEW YORK— “Saturday Night Live” has paid tribute to victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting and the late rock superstar Tom Petty by opening its show with country star Jason Aldean singing one of Petty’s songs.

Aldean performed “I Won’t Back Down” during the live opening Saturday night and then introduced the show.

Aldean was performing at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas last Sunday night when a gunman sprayed bullets into the crowd from a high-rise hotel, killing 58 people and injuring nearly 500.

Petty died the next day in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest.