Watch Luke Bryan Honor Toby Keith by Performing One of His Hits During NBC Tribute Special

Luke Bryan was among the dozens of country artists honoring the late Toby Keith during a Nashville taping at Bridgestone Arena in July as part of the two-hour NBC concert special Toby Keith: American Icon, which will air Wednesday (Aug. 28) from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT, and Billboard has an exclusive look at the performance before it airs.

For his tribute, two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner Bryan donned a cowboy hat that had been given to him by his sister (who passed away in 2007) as he delivered Keith’s debut hit, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” 

“This hat has been hanging in my closet for probably 15 years,” Bryan said prior to the performance, recalling his pre-Nashville years when he was playing bars in his home state of Georgia and performing “about 10 Toby Keith songs a night.” “I used to wear this hat every night, and ever since I lost my sister, I hadn’t put this hat [on] onstage in a lot of years. I was walkin’ out the house, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m just an old country boy from Georgia, but Toby Keith certainly made me want to be a cowboy.’ I’m going to be a cowboy tonight … This is for you, Toby.”

“Should’ve Been a Cowboy” spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart in 1993. Keith would go on to notch 20 No. 1 hits on that chart during his career, including “I Love This Bar,” “American Soldier,” and “I’m Just Talkin’ ‘Bout Tonight.”

Keith died in February at age 62 following a battle with stomach cancer. He will be posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year

Watch Billboard‘s look at Bryan’s performance of “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” below: