Toby Keith Makes Triumphant Return To Stage With Las Vegas Show
Toby Keith/Facebook
Toby Keith is officially back! The legendary country singer took the stage in Las Vegas Sunday night for his first official full-length concert since 2020.
In June 2022, Toby Keith, 62, went public with his stomach cancer diagnosis, six months after he first received the news. In a post made to social media, Keith shared that he had been receiving chemotherapy, radiation, and had undergone surgeries in the months since his diagnosis.
“So far, so good,” Keith wrote. “I need time to breathe, recover and relax. I am looking forward to spending this time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can’t wait.”
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The day after he shared the news, Toby cancelled all of his upcoming concerts, including his highly-anticipated Country Comes To Town tour. In the months since, Toby made occasional appearances, including an impromptu performance of “How Do You Like Me Now” with the OU Sooners women’s softball team following their 7th NCAA championship win in June 2023.
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Most notably, Keith performed at the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards where he was honored with the Country Icon Award. Following his award acceptance speech, he launched into a stunning performance of his 2018 song, “Don’t Let The Old Man In.”
Toby wrote the song for Clint Eastwood’s 2018 film The Mule. He said that writing a song for Eastwood challenged him to write the best song he’s ever written.
“I knew who I was writing it for and I knew who had inspired me to write it. I wanted to deliver him the best thing that I could,” Keith said. “The second I wrote it, it was just like I jumped 500 feet in the air…I knew I had accomplished what I wanted to accomplish.”
Following his PCCAs performance, the song surged to the top of the iTunes chart and fueled Toby Keith desire to return to the stage for full-length shows.
In late October, Keith announced a special two-night event at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas on December 10-11. The shows would mark his first full-length concerts in more than three years, due to the global pandemic followed by his own health crisis.
“It’s been awhile,” Keith said. “You know what I’ve been doing. I’ve been on the ol’ roller coaster, but Almighty’s riding shotgun. He’s let me drive for some reason.“
Keith added, “I was gonna sit around here and do nothin’ like I have been, or get up and go outside and don’t let the old man in. You know what I mean?”
The shows quickly sold-out, leading Toby and his team to add a third Vegas concert which will take place Thursday, December 14.
Toby kicked off his Las Vegas run Sunday night, December 10!
Photos and videos posted to social media by fans in attendance show Toby looking and sounding as good as ever as he performed some of his biggest hits, including “Don’t Let The Old Man In.” Sammy Hagar and fellow country star Trace Adkins made surprise appearances at the show.
See clips of Toby’s triumphant return to the stage below and watch him sing “Don’t Let The Old Man In” in the final video!
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Watch Toby sing “Don’t Let The Old Man In” live in Las Vegas in the video below.
