“Celebrating a Great Artist”: Tim McGraw Honors Toby Keith with Tribute Performance

On stage, Tim McGraw is paying tribute to Toby Keith.

During his performance at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Orlando, Florida, this week, the 56-year-old country musician paid touching homage to the late singer, who passed away on Monday.

In order to commemorate the moment, McGraw posted a video to Instagram. His longtime friendship with Keith was the subject of his video message.

Early in our respective careers, Toby and I became close friends. On the bus, we played a few gigs and even got in a little hoops action. Playing against him was no picnic because of how talented he was at basketball, McGraw laughed.

“However, he was an amazing human being, an exceptionally gifted artist, and I respected his independence and refusal to conform to the opinions of others,” McGraw elaborated. “If I feel emotional, I ask that you kindly don’t push it. In honor of Toby and his loved ones, I present this music to you.

After that, many in the crowd joined McGraw as he sang “Live Like You Were Dying” in Keith’s honor.

For their assistance in honoring @tobykeith last night, McGraw expressed gratitude to Hollywood FL in the caption. To Hardrock Holly, “It meant a lot.”

After fighting stomach cancer since the fall of 2021, Keith, who was 62 years old, passed away on Monday. He “passed peacefully,” according to his family’s social media message.

Fans and friends, including Keith’s close buddy Brett Favre, praised McGraw when the tribute video went viral. “That was absolutely fantastic, Tim!” he penned.

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A post shared by Tim McGraw (@thetimmcgraw)

Keith mentioned being exhausted and content with whatever transpired during Favre’s last conversation with him, which was recounted in an interview. He expressed concern that he would stop taking chemotherapy too soon.

McGraw paid respect to Keith during an emotional Instagram post in which he referred to Keith as his “brother.”

In his piece, McGraw discussed Keith’s courageous career path and the experiences they had in common. The homage was concluded with his words, “We all will miss you, brother.”