Oh Toby Keith is back alright.
The Big Dog Daddy has been battling stomach cancer for more than a year, revealing the diagnosis last June while canceling the rest of his scheduled 2022 shows.
And over the past year, the country star has largely remained out of the public eye.
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 that’s exactly what he did this past weekend during two surprise pop-up shows at Hollywood Corners, a bar that he owns in his home state of Oklahoma.
What was supposed to just be a rehearsal of sorts for Toby to test the waters ended up turning into full blown, 2 and a half hour full band shows.
Toby powered through all of his hits, including, of course, “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue” ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
And as he wrapped up the 2001 hit, Toby had a message for the crowd as he raised a middle finger in the air:
“Never apologize for being patriotic. F*ck em.”
Yep, there’s the same ol’ Toby Keith back on stage once again.
Feels like all is right with the world again.
@countrymusicamerica “Dont apologize for being patriotic, fuck em” – TK #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #music #country #countrymusic #usa #independenceday #4thofjuly #america #tobykeith #rap #hiphop #now #dance ♬ Chill Vibes – Tollan Kim