Country music legend Toby Keith’s children were brought to tears during a heartfelt tribute to their late dad at the 2024 CMT Music Awards.
The “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer, who died in February at age 62, was honored during Sunday night’s broadcast as singers Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Hagar, and Lainey Wilson each paid their respects with renditions of his songs.
The musicians performed hits like “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “I Love This Bar” and “How Do You Like Me Now?!” at the ceremony, which took place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Keith, who died following a battle with stomach cancer, was also honored with a series of poignant speeches made by his longtime friends and fellow singers.
In the audience, the late performer’s three children Krystal Keith, Shelley Covel Rowland, and Stelen Keith Covel watched the loving tributes. The “Red Solo Cup” hitmaker’s wife, Tricia Lucus, was not in attendance.
At one point during the broadcast, the cameras cut to the late singer’s three children who were visibly overcome with emotion and moved to tears.
Following the performance, former MLB player Roger Clemens — who was a longtime friend of the late performer — read out a loving memorial in honor of Keith.
“Thank you for sharing your dad with all of us. Thank you,” he said, bringing Keith’s family to tears. “Trish, we love you. Thank you for sharing your husband with the world, Trish. Thank you.”
As the crowd cheered, Clemens asked everyone to toast a red Solo cup in Keith’s honor, while making a reference to his hit “Beer for My Horses.”
“Alright, real quick. Raise ’em up. Everybody at home, raise your fist if you don’t have a Solo cup. Let Toby hear you. Repeat after me, ‘Whiskey for my men,’ and, ‘Beer for my horses.’ Let’s go,” he concluded.
Elsewhere, Willie Nelson’s son Lukas, who played in Keith’s band, was joined by singer Riley Green to say a few words about the late icon.
“Toby was not a shy guy. He had a big personality,” said Nelson, 35. “I met him when I was younger when he was working on ‘Beer for My Horses’ with my dad. I got lucky I got the opportunity to watch his artistry in person.”
“That guy could come up with a hook like no other and sing the hell out of every song that he wrote, somehow only making it look easy,” Green added.
“Right now, we have one of our favorite artists to perform one of our favorite Toby songs.”
Wilson, 31, then took to the stage and brought the tribute home with an uplifting performance of “How Do You Like Me Now?!”
Throughout his glittering career — which spanned three decades — Keith received a total of 30 CMT Award nominations, and won seven belt buckles.
He also performed at the award ceremony 13 times.
