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Blake Shelton paid tribute to late country legend Toby Keith with a medley of two of Keith’s most iconic party anthems. Shelton performed “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup” when he took the CMA Theater stage at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Keith was inducted during the star-studded Medallion Ceremony alongside John Anderson and James Burton. Keith, Anderson and Burton became the 153rd, 154th and 155th members of the Hall of Fame.
Earlier this year, Keith “passed peacefully…surrounded by family,” following a battle with stomach cancer. He was 62. The late country star’s wife, Tricia Covel, spoke for the first time at the induction ceremony with son Stelen Keith Covel on stage with her. She and Keith were married nearly four decades at the time of his passing in February. Keith is also survived by daughters Shelley Covel Rowland and Krystal Keith, and his grandchildren.
Shelton, a fellow Oklahoma-born country artist, was one of three singers to honor Keith during the ceremony on Sunday, October 20. Post Malone performed “I’m Just Talking’ About Tonight” — one night after he covered “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” during his headlining show at Nissan Stadium in Nashville — and Eric Church delivered a moving rendition of “Don’t Let The Old Man In.”
“The Keith family sends their heartfelt congratulations to [John Anderson] and James Burton for your inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame,” reads a statement posted to Keith’s Instagram account following the induction. “They would like to thank Kyle Young and the [Country Music Hall of Fame] as well as Randy Owen for inducting Toby into the Hall of Fame and for your beautiful words. Thank you also to [Post Malone], [Eric Church] and [Blake Shelton] for your incredible performances of some of Toby’s most beloved songs.”