{"id":74240,"date":"2026-10-05T05:11:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T05:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/05\/how-route-91-changed-austin-and-chantals-lives-forever\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T05:11:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T05:11:35","slug":"how-route-91-changed-austin-and-chantals-lives-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/05\/how-route-91-changed-austin-and-chantals-lives-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"How Route 91 Changed Austin and Chantal’s Lives Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Austin<\/strong> and Chantal Monfort<\/strong> went to Las Vegas in October 2017 for country music. They had no idea the trip would change both of their lives forever.<\/p>\n

The pair had met just one night earlier, and they were still essentially strangers when they found themselves at the Route 91 Harvest Festival<\/a> on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n

When gunfire erupted, Austin never left Chantal’s side. They ran across the festival grounds together, holding hands \u2014 and eventually built the life they almost didn’t get to have.<\/p>\n

Austin and Chantal Met the Night Before Route 91<\/h3>\n

Chantal, who is originally from Canada, says she and Austin first met at Gilley’s in Las Vegas the night before the festival.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>31 Country Songs About Real Personal Tragedies<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was looking at me across the room, and I was definitely playing hard to get, but once he came over, it was like I knew him forever,\u201d she tells Taste of Country<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

They spent the rest of the night together, even trying to ride the New York-New York roller coaster, which had been on Chantal’s Vegas bucket list. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time they got there.<\/p>\n

The next day, Chantal’s friends planned to go shopping, but she wanted to get to the festival early. She texted Austin, and he agreed to join her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grabbed a beer and tried to make our way as close to the stage as possible,\u201d she recalls. They ended up on the right-hand side of the festival grounds, overlooking Mandalay Bay.<\/p>\n

Read More: <\/b><\/em>30 Most Bone-Chilling Country Songs About Death, Ranked<\/a><\/p>\n

Later that night, they were about six people from the front of the crowd when the shooting began.<\/p>\n

Austin Never Left Chantal’s Side<\/h3>\n

The Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting on Oct. 1, 2017,<\/a> killed 58 people that night and injured more than 400 others. Two additional victims later died from their injuries.<\/p>\n

For Chantal and Austin, the moments that followed became part of the story they would carry with them for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never left my side; we ran out together,\u201d Chantal says.<\/p>\n

Read More: <\/b><\/em>10 Country Songs Inspired by World Tragedy<\/a><\/p>\n

Nine years later, Chantal reflected on that night in a social media post marking the anniversary.<\/p>\n

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We were basically strangers, but we ran across those festival grounds hand in hand. He never once left my side.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From Route 91 to a Life Together<\/h3>\n

Chantal and Austin are now six years into their marriage and have two children. \u201cI still think about how close we came to never getting this life,\u201d Chantal wrote.<\/p>\n

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Chantal Monfort<\/figcaption>Chantal Monfort<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

She also used the anniversary to remember the people who didn’t survive and the survivors who continue to carry the weight of that night.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the people who didn\u2019t come home that night, and to every survivor still carrying it: we remember you, today and always,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

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Remembering the Victims of Route 91 and Their Stories<\/h2>\n
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Their stories should never be forgotten.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n