The 'Whiskey Girl' crooner has thrilled fans in his home state of Oklahoma by performing his hit singles at two concerts over the Independence Day weekend.
- Jul 7, 2023
AceShowbiz - Cancer-stricken country star Toby Keith is back on the stage to play two pop -up concerts. The 61-year-old singer announced his health crisis last year, revealing he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in autumn 2021 and planning to step away from music to focus on undergoing surgery as well as rounds of chemo and radiation therapy - but he's now made good on a promise to return to the stage by playing two shows in his home state of Oklahoma over the Independence Day weekend.
Last Friday, June 30 and Saturday, July 1, Toby performed a pair of two-and-a-half–hour gigs at the Hollywood Corners music bar in the city of Norman. "I'm gonna keep on doing all these number one hits I wrote," the singer belted out his hits and told the crowd in a video taken at one of the concerts shows. His set list is said to have included "Whiskey Girl", "I Love This Bar", "American Life", and a cover of Bill Withers' classic "Ain't No Sunshine".
Speaking after the show, one concert-goer named Joanna Hall told The Oklahoman, "He seemed a little taken aback that that many people were there. He was like, 'This was supposed to be a secret. … This was a bigger secret than what I intended.' "
Keith previously told the paper he was hoping to play a couple of shows to get ready for a potential return to the road as his health has been improving in recent months. He told The Oklahoman, "I'm feeling pretty good.' Basically, everything is in a real positive trend. You never know with cancer, so you have to prepare."
Toby went on to say he's hoping to be "out on the road this fall," adding, "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 ... I'm ready ... that's living."
