A Louisiana roots band is safe after a performance in Turkey, where terrorists killed more than 40 people at an airport.

The Pine Leaf Boys are a bluegrass band based out of Louisiana.  As part of their fifth U.S. State Department tour, they performed in Izmir, which is nearly 300 miles from Istanbul.

"It's similar to the vibe you got after 9/11," a band member said during a Skype interview.

"Everything's okay," the and added. "It's unfortunate that these things happen, because Istanbul is a really cool town."

The 4-time Grammy Award-nominated band was supposed to play a set in Istanbul Wednesday, but canceled after 3 terrorists opened fire and bombed the Istanbul Ataturk Airport.  42 people died in the attack and another 230 were injured.

"Security is mega tight," they explained. "We saw a guy today walking with a machine gun at the airport."

The tour stops again in Ankara, 300 miles from Istanbul.  They say they feel protected by the security forces Istanbul has been able to provide them.

"We feel very protected with the embasy over here," they said. "we've got some security with us, so we feel protected."