The country star, 56, sang a heartfelt tribute to the late singer, who passed away on Monday, during his show at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Orlando, Florida, this week.
McGraw shared a video on Instagram of the special moment. In the video, he talked about his close friendship with Keith over the years.
“Toby and I became good friends early in our careers. We spent a lot of time together on the bus, played some shows together, and even played basketball. He was really good at basketball, so it wasn’t much fun playing against him,” McGraw joked.
“But he was a great guy, a talented artist, and I admired how he did things his own way, without caring what others thought,” McGraw continued. “So please bear with me if I get emotional. I want to dedicate this song to Toby and his family.”
McGraw then sang his song “Live Like You Were Dying” in honor of Keith, with many people in the audience joining in.
“Thanks Hollywood FL for helping me pay tribute to @tobykeith last night,” McGraw added in the caption. “It meant a lot @hardrockholly.”
Keith passed away at the age of 62 on Monday after battling stomach cancer since fall 2021. His family shared that he “passed peacefully” in a statement on social media.
After the video of McGraw’s tribute surfaced, he received praise from fans and friends including Brett Favre, who was also close to Keith. “Tim that was awesome!!!” he wrote.
Favre shared his last conversation with Keith in an interview, where Keith expressed being tired and at peace with whatever happened. He mentioned quitting chemotherapy and hoping he didn’t quit it too late.
McGraw’s tribute to Keith comes after he posted a heartfelt message on Instagram calling Keith his “brother.”
In his post, McGraw talked about their shared experiences and Keith’s fearless approach to his career. He ended the tribute with, “We all will miss you, brother.”