Toby Keith’s Kids Open Up About Their Dad On CMT Awards Red Carpet

On Sunday night (April 7), Toby Keith was honored at the 2024 CMT Music Awards. 

Toby’s good friend, MLB legend Roger Clemens, introduced the tribute, which included performances from Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Hagar, and Lainey Wilson.

Brooks & Dunn performed “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” while Sammy Hagar sang a rowdy rendition of “I Love This Bar.” Lainey Wilson brought the tribute to a close with an incredible cover of “How Do You Like Me Now?!”

During these tributes, the cameras cut to Keith’s three children, Shelley, Krystal, and Stelen, who were visibly emotional.

RELATED: Toby Keith Had Three Children – Meet Them All Here

While walking the red carpet, the siblings spoke with Us Weekly about their legendary father.

When asked what it means to be at the CMT Music Awards, Keith’s eldest daughter, Shelley, said, “It means a lot. [It’s] our first really public outing, so it’s really bittersweet. It’s going to be emotional. We’re doing our best to keep the tears in now.”

Her younger sister, Krystal, chimed in and said, “Honestly, this is an awards show we’ve come to quite a bit. We’ve always come with him, so this is our first time being here without him, but he is being honored, so we feel like he’s here, and we’re excited to hear his music even though he’s not singing it. We’re really honored that Brooks & Dunn, and Sammy, and Lainey have chosen to honor him this way.”

Krystal continued, “We knew he was an incredible artist, we knew he was an incredible songwriter, we knew he had a huge fan base, but what took us by surprise was the outpouring from the community and the industry people that we’ve known for so many years and people that we’ve never met telling us about the impact he had on them and I think that speaks volumes to who he was not just to the industry but in everyone in the country music family.”

While they did not know which songs would be performed, Stelen revealed he had recently spent some time with Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks a few weeks ago when Toby was announced as a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.

“We just talked about what he meant to them and vice versa, I got to relay the same back. We’re really excited to be here.,” he said. 

Krystal said they had spent the night prior with Sammy Hagar and his wife swapping stories with them, saying it was “Cathartic” to do so.

It’s clear their father meant so much to them. Watch their interview below.