Luke Bryan And Carrie Underwood Pay Moving Tributes To Toby Keith During New TV Special

Luke Bryan And Carrie Underwood Pay Moving Tributes To Toby Keith During New TV Special

Ahead of NBC’s broadcast of Toby Keith: American Icon on August 28, two performances from the special tribute show have been shared. Luke Bryan dons a cowboy hat his sister gave him, “Back when I was playing bars and doing about 10 Toby Keith songs a night. I used to wear this hat every night.…

Ahead of NBC’s broadcast of Toby Keith: American Icon on August 28, two performances from the special tribute show have been shared. Luke Bryan dons a cowboy hat his sister gave him, “Back when I was playing bars and doing about 10 Toby Keith songs a night. I used to wear this hat every night. Ever since I lost my sister I haven’t put this hat on onstage in a lot of years. I was walking out the house, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m just an old country boy from Georgia. Toby Keith certainly made me wanna be a cowboy. I’m gonna be a cowboy tonight.'” Bryan then played a rousing version of Keith’s hit “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.”

Carrie Underwood led off the evening with a spirited performance of Keith’s song, “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action.” Underwood set the emotional tone when she stepped on stage at the Bridgestone Arena, saying “Nashville! We are all here for one reason — this incredible man,” as a giant photo of Keith appeared behind her. Toby Keith: American Icon airs on NBC on Wednesday, August 28 at 9 p.m. ET, and will stream the next day on Peacock. (NBC)