The Big Dog Daddy is BACK.
Toby Keith has been battling stomach cancer for more than a year, revealing the diagnosis last June before canceling the rest of his scheduled 2022 shows.
Since then, the country star has largely remained out of the public eye in the year, though in November he did sit down with CMT and reveal that he still hopes to tour again after he’s had some time to heal and rest up.
You heard it here first! @tobykeith has plans to get back on the road after battling cancer 👊 More details on his road to recovery this weekend only on #cmtHot20! pic.twitter.com/3p3Rs5a1XM
— CMT Hot 20 Countdown (@cmtHot20) November 19, 2022
And we’ve even seen Toby out and about a little, with the country star jumping on stage to sing a few songs at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Lexington, Kentucky late last year.
Most recently, the 61-year old was out at his Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic in Oklahoma, where he raised $1.8 million for the OK Kids Korral, which Keith started to help pediatric cancer patients in Oklahoma by providing cost-free living spaces for families of children battling cancer.
A couple of weeks ago we hosted the 19th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic and we are excited to announce it was a record breaking year! We raised $1.8 million for OK Kids Korral! Thank you for all of the the love and support. We are already looking forward to next year! pic.twitter.com/B5RKcSIVlj
— TobyKeithFoundation (@TK_Foundation) June 20, 2023
But you can’t keep a cowboy down for very long.
The singer’s representatives recently told Fox News Digital that Toby is “feeling good” and that they are “anticipating Toby will be on the road again soon.”
And Toby himself told The Oklahoman recently that he’s ready to test the waters to see if he’s up to getting back on stage:
“I’ve got more wind. And I’m thinking about bringing the band in and setting up, playing two or three days somewhere just to see if I can get through two hours.
All I gotta do is see if I can get through two or three nights of work and get a little break in this chemo, and we’ll go back to work.”
Well if there were any questions about whether Toby could still get through a two hour show, it sounds like he answered them last night – and then some.
Last night, Toby made a surprise appearance at Hollywood Corners, a bar that he owns in his home state of Oklahoma.
And what was supposed to just be a rehearsal of sorts for Toby to test the waters ended up turning into a full blown 2 and a half hour full band show.
Toby‘s first rehearsal turned into a 2 1/2 hour pop-up show. He sang all the hits plus the Bus Songs…Toby is back!
📸: Suzanne Cordeiro pic.twitter.com/WPzLOVoUYP
— Toby Keith (@tobykeith) July 1, 2023
And he sounds just like the Toby Keith that we all know and love.
— BKellz 3.0 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@0Bkellz3) July 1, 2023
@hollywoodcorners @tobykeith pic.twitter.com/mslH5eZmH9
— BKellz 3.0 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@0Bkellz3) July 1, 2023
TobyKeith!!!!! First show with his full band since his cancer diagnosis! https://t.co/b40yaUrgPr pic.twitter.com/QUnutMYhOR
— Semi-Retired Air Force Razorback (@AustinWakeham) July 1, 2023
Toby Keith tonight at Hollywood Corners…….private party, everyone is welcome! pic.twitter.com/MAuUFqVOfH
— nealon adams (@NealonAdams) July 1, 2023
God bless this country. God bless Toby Keith. And god bless our troops. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jAWFp7KJmv
— Terry Yaki (@Gustavochiggin) July 1, 2023
Great to see Toby back on stage and killing it once again.
A two and a half hour show? No problem. Fire up the bus, because the Big Dog Daddy is back.
