The late Toby Keith shall be posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this 12 months, however on Monday evening (July 29) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, practically two dozen of the Oklahoma native’s fellow nation artists supplied a stirring, life-celebrating occasion that was equal components rowdy, tender and patriotic — as was Keith’s personal slate of hits. The Keith-honoring occasion came about for the taping of the two-hour NBC live performance particular Toby Keith: American Icon, which is able to air August 28 from 9 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET/PT.

A cavalcade of his fellow nation artists, together with Eric Church, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Priscilla Block and Keith’s fellow Sooner State native Carrie Underwood, gathered to honor the multi-faceted entertainer’s profession and towering legacy as a songwriter, singer, chief, performer, businessman, steadfast army supporter and philanthropist.

Keith died in February at age 62 following a battle with abdomen most cancers. Keith labored within the oil fields earlier than beginning his Easy Money Band and enjoying bars round Oklahoma and Texas. After he moved to Nashville and landed a label deal in 1993 whereas in his 30s, he solid a 3 decade-plus profession, turning into one in all nation music’s most profitable artists — and in the end doing so on his personal phrases, by recording his personal songs, constructions that additionally made probably the most of his outsized persona.

He was identified for his burly baritone, for writing or co-writing the majority of his hits and for being as adept at crafting a heart-tugging ballad as he was at using the intelligent wordplay that crammed a lot of his up-tempo hits equivalent to “I Love This Bar” and “As Good As I Once Was.” He amassed 20 Billboard Country Airplay hits, offered 44 million albums and earned 10 billion streams. He was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

Underwood opened the present with Keith’s 1994 hit “A Little Less Talk (And a Lot More Action).”

“We are all here for one reason — this man, the big dog daddy. His music, his heart, his life. Everyone on this stage loves Toby. Tonight, we are going to have a party he’d be proud of,” Underwood declared.

And from there, these packing the Bridgestone Arena certainly proceeded to occasion, with the stage full of revelers in addition to the viewers. An enormous bar was arrange in a single nook of the stage, whereas the opposite — topped with an American flag set piece — gave a number of army members among the finest seats in the home.

Church recalled how Toby Keith invited him to play some reveals with him, at a time when Church’s profession was nonetheless in its early levels. “There is no way I’m standing here today without Toby Keith,” Church stated, earlier than performing Keith’s “As Good As I Once Was.” He added, “We help each other out, that’s what country music does.”

Wilson knew the best way to make an entrance, using a horse by the Bridgestone crowd to the principle stage earlier than becoming a member of Jamey Johnson to sing “Beer For My Horses,” a 2003 hit for Keith and Willie Nelson.

Meanwhile, Rucker supplied a full-throated, joyous rendition of “God Love Her,” recalling the help he obtained from Keith when Rucker ready to launch his first nation mission again in 2008. “He was one of the first people to reach out and let me know how welcome I am,” Rucker stated.

Keith’s catalog was stuffed with up-tempo occasion songs, however particularly early in his profession, he was identified for ballads, each heartbreaking and heart-tugging entries. Performing his 1994 hit “Wish I Didn’t Know Now,” Ashley McBryde stated, “Anything he sang you believed it because he only wrote what he believed.”

Interspersed between performances had been video tributes from his fellow nation artists Nelson, Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire and George Strait, in addition to different celebrities Keith had developed shut ties with, together with comic Carrot Top and The Late Show host Stephen Colbert.

“There will never be another Toby Keith,” Shelton stated in a single video clip.

Elsewhere through the night, Jordan Davis carried out “I Love This Bar,” with assist from Clay Walker, whereas Riley Green teamed with Ella Langley for “Who’s Your Daddy.” Luke Bryan donned a cowboy hat that had been given to him by his sister (who later handed away in 2007) as he carried out Keith’s debut hit, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Tyler Hubbard was joined by songwriters Warren Brothers and Jim and Brett Beavers, in addition to Davis and Jelly Roll, elevating the occasion ambiance and buying and selling traces on the rap-tinged anthem “Red Solo Cup” (one of many uncommon Keith hits that Keith wasn’t a author on), whereas HARDY and Brantley Gilbert teamed for the defiant, blistering “How Do You Like Me Now?”

Alongside his work as a musician, Keith’s help for the army was a trigger near his coronary heart. Over the years, he did 16 USO Tours, visiting 18 international locations and performing for an estimated 250,000 troops. A army band marched onstage through the live performance to honor Keith, whereas chants of “U.S.A.” rose from the viewers. During the tribute live performance, Trace Adkins carried out Keith’s heartfelt ballad “American Soldier,” and informed the gang, “Never apologize for being patriotic,” which drew one other spherical of “U.S.A.” chants.

The night additionally highlighted Keith’s work in supporting youngsters battling most cancers, by his OK Kids Korral, which began in 2014 and gives a cost-free place for households of pediatric most cancers sufferers to remain whereas sufferers are receiving therapy on the Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center. The Bridgestone Arena live performance aided the OK Kids Korral, in addition to Nashville’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Furthermore, the night additionally made it clear that Keith’s first precedence was his household, together with his spouse Tricia, his son Stelen and his daughters Krystal and Shelley, all of whom had been in attendance that night.

Jelly Roll devoted his efficiency of Keith’s “My List” to the late singer’s household, singing the tender music as images of Keith along with his household had been displayed on the display screen. Jelly Roll famous, “Toby inspired me to be a better American human and songwriter and inspired me to be a better father.”

Keith’s daughter Shelley took the stage to supply phrases of tribute to her father, saying, “My dad knew your worth isn’t measured by what you have, but by what you give,” earlier than Krystal carried out Keith’s “Don’t Let the Old Man In,” which Toby had carried out in 2023 on the inaugural People’s Choice Awards.

Later on, one of many highlights of the night was supplied by Keith himself, as footage performed of him in his remaining recording session, laying down vocals on a model of the late Joe Diffie’s “Ships that Don’t Come In,” which Keith recorded as a part of HARDY’s Hixtape to honor Diffie.

“What an amazing tip of the hat and such a patriotic person and to see such a song sung so gracefully with so much feeling and with so much meaning, I’m just so thankful to be such a small part of such a cool moment,” HARDY famous.

The night concluded as Texas native and “Pretty Heart” hitmaker Parker McCollum took heart stage.

McCollum referred to as Keith “one of the greatest country music singer-songwriters to ever live,” earlier than welcoming the top-shelf lineup of artists again to the stage for an all-sing of one other of Keith’s signature songs, the defiant hit that captured the fury many felt following the terrorist assaults of Sept. 11, 2001, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).”