Carrie Underwood Kicks Off NBC Concert Special Honoring Toby Keith

Country music performer Carrie Underwood kicked off the Toby Keith concert special, premiering on Wednesday.
Recorded on July 29 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, NBC’s “Toby Keith: American Icon” is a two-hour concert special in tribute to the late country star.
Underwood, 41, was the first to perform during the event, singing a rendition of “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action.”
In February, Keith died of gastric cancer at 62 years of age. Underwood expressed her appreciation for the late singer in an Instagram post displaying pictures of them together.
The “Before He Cheats” singer is one of several stars joining in to pay tribute to Keith’s legacy.
Luke Bryan, Eric Church, HARDY, Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, and Jelly Roll are only a few of the many performers viewers can expect to see appear during the concert special on Wednesday.
“My sister down in Georgia bought me this hat when I was playing bars and doing about 10 Toby Keith songs a night. I used to wear this hat every night. Ever since I lost my sister I haven’t put this hat on onstage in a lot of years,” he said.
“I was walking out the house, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m just an old country boy from Georgia. Toby Keith certainly made me wanna be a cowboy. I’m gonna be a cowboy tonight.’”
His list of chart-topping singles includes 1999’s “How Do You Like Me Now”, 2002’s “Beer For My Horses” with Willie Nelson, 2003’s “I Love This Bar”, 2005’s “As Good As I Once Was”, and his post 9/11 song “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).”
Keith was born on July 8, 1961, in Clinton, Oklahoma. His interest in pursuing music was ignited during his childhood when he spent a summer with his grandmother in Arkansas. While he was there, he would visit her dining establishment and was in awe of the atmosphere.
In Sept. 2023, Keith was honored with the inaugural Country Icon Award at the People’s Choice Country Awards.
“I want to thank the Almighty for allowing me to be here tonight,” he said during his acceptance speech. “He’s been riding shotgun with me for a little while now. I want to thank my beautiful family that’s here. A lot of people go into making a career like this of 30 years.”
Following his speech, he performed on television for the last time at the Opry House, singing 2018’s “Don’t Let the Old Man In.”