How Toby Keith’s First Rehearsal Amid Cancer Treatment Went

Toby Keith is back! Amid his ongoing battle with stomach cancer, and after revealing last month that he was itching to get “out on the road” again, the famed country singer took the stage for what was intended to be a rehearsal that actually turned into an hours-long pop-up concert.

Keith posted about the milestone on Instagram over the weekend. Sharing a photo of himself on stage, the caption read, “Toby’s first rehearsal turned into a 2 1/2 hour pop-up show. He sang all the hits plus the Bus Songs…Toby is back!” According to Country Now, the rehearsal-turned-pop-up show took place at Keith’s Hollywood Corners venue in Norman, Oklahoma. Keith performed a second pop-up show the following night, with his longtime songwriting collaborator Scotty Emerick joining him on stage. In a separate post, Keith’s account shared, “itfelt so right, Toby had to do it twice. Two nights in a row at [Hollywood Corners]. Writing buddy [Scotty Emerick] joined Toby. Nights to remember! Toby’s back!”

The back-to-back surprise performances, marking some of Keith’s first since he announced his cancer diagnosis in last June, were met with plenty of excitement from fans. Commenting on the posts, one person wrote, “You can’t keep legends down,” with another person writing, “So good to know you are feeling great again… Looking forward to seeing you LIVE again! Love and prayers!”

The two pop-up shows come after Keith revealed while speaking with The Oklahoman last month that he was considering returning to the stage sooner rather than later. The singer told the outlet that he needed “a little bit of time to just rest up and heal up,” adding that now that he was “feeling better” and had “more wind,” he was “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.” In that same interview, Keith, who shared that his tumor has shrunk by a third, said if he is able to, he’ll be “out on the road this fall. 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.”

Although Keith hasn’t announced a tour just yet, he is making it clear that his music career isn’t on hold. Over the weekend, the singer launched his “Toby Keith Presents: Made In America” playlist, which is now available on Spotify and features patriotic classics from the singer’s catalog of music. Keith also released a new EP titled America, featuring six of his hits with patriotic themes, to mark Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.