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Toby Keith stands before a cheering crowd in a video on his Instagram page. It’s the country music legend’s final post before a statement confirming that he “passed peacefully…surrounded by family,” following a years-long battle with stomach cancer. He was 62.
“And that’s a wrap on the weekend, y’all. Back to it,” his caption reads. The brief video shows Keith standing on stage and holding his guitar in the air as the audience erupts with cheers and applause. Keith made a triumphant return to the stage in December in Las Vegas, Nevada. The country music giant performed a three-show run, beginning with two back-to-back nights, and adding a third and final performance date when those two quickly sold out. Keith’s show became one of the fastest-selling tickets in the venue’s history, according to a post on the singer’s website that details his two-hour set.
A statement posted to Keith’s social media pages in the early morning hours on Tuesday (February 6) confirmed: “Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on Feb. 5 surrounded by his family. He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.” The news prompted an outpouring of tributes in Keith’s honor as the country music community mourned his loss.
Keith announced in June 2022 that he’d been diagnosed with stomach cancer the previous fall, and would take time off to rest and recover. When he announced his run of shows in Las Vegas, Keith said it was the “first time in my whole life I've been off over two years. I've never been off a year in my life.”