Hundreds of fans flock to Toby Keith's first concerts since revealing his cancer diagnosis

NORMAN — Toby Keith picked a particularly meaningful stage to make his eagerly awaited return in concert over the weekend.

His own.

The country music superstar, who was born in Clinton, raised in Moore and lives in Norman, played hometown pop-up concerts Friday and Saturday night at Hollywood Corners, the historic 1920s roadhouse and service station in north Norman that Keith bought in 2015 and revamped into a roadside deli, bar and music venue.

Hundreds of fans turned out to catch Keith's emotional first shows since he revealed last summer that he was battling stomach cancer.

"He put on a great show. ... They seemed really happy, and he was very thankful for everybody who showed up," said rural Norman resident Joanna Hall, who lives near Hollywood Corners and attended Friday's show.

"He seemed a little taken aback that that many people were there. He was like, 'This was supposed to be a secret. ... This was a bigger secret than what I intended.'"

What started out as the first rehearsals for Keith and his Easy Money Band since the Songwriters Hall of Famer made his cancer diagnosis public more than a year ago turned into full-blown pop-up concerts as word of the secret shows spread over the weekend.

Keith's publicist confirmed that Keith and his band, joined by the hitmaker's frequent songwriting partner Scotty Emerick, played for about two and a half hours both nights.

The Oklahoma Hall of Famer played the hometown pop-up shows a month after telling The Oklahoman in an exclusive interview that he felt his health had improved enough to plan an autumn return to touring.

"I'm feeling pretty good. ... Basically, everything is in a real positive trend. You never know with cancer, so you have to prepare. But my goal is, I feel better; I've got more wind. And I'm 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," Keith told The Oklahoman backstage at Norman's Riverwind Casino during the June 2 pre-tournament gala for his 19th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic.

"And if I do, (I'll) be out on the road this fall."

How has Toby Keith been fighting stomach cancer?

Last June, Keith revealed that he had been battling stomach cancer since fall 2021 and had already spent the past six months undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

Keith, who will turn 62 on July 8, told The Oklahoman last month he is continuing with chemo, his tumor has shrunk by a third, and his blood tests have looked good.

"We're getting ready to do another scan, and I expect it to be good news, because it was working. And I've been taking it, so I expect it to continue," Keith said at the June 2 interview.

The Oklahoma native said he also is taking immunotherapy and working with a nutritionist.

"They put oxygen in your blood. They give you high doses of vitamin C and good vitamins and nutrient bag you up to where you feel better. And you can start trying to heal your body again," he said.

"Now, they're trying to fight where cancer backs up and says, 'Oh, you're fighting that tumor? We're gonna remorph and turn into this kind of cancer.' So, we're back here while they're in the bullpen regrouping, and we're trying to kill 'em with something different."

What songs did Toby Keith play at his hometown pop-up concerts?

Country singer-songwriter Kyle Rainer was originally scheduled to play Friday at Hollywood Corners. But if he was going to have his date there scrapped, the Edmond-based solo artist figured there was "no one better to take my place than the boss man himself."

"Glad to see him back on stage … been too long! Welcome back TK," Rainer posted Friday night on his Facebook page, along with videos of Keith singing his humorous 1990s hit "You Ain't Much Fun," his "The Mule" movie soundtrack song "Don't Let the Old Man In," his early Top 5 ballad "He Ain't Worth Missing" and more.

Rainer is scheduled to play Hollywood Corners on Aug. 25.

The set list for Friday night's pop-up concert included many of Keith's signature smashes, select deep cuts and some of his lighthearted "Bus Songs," Hall said. For her, one of the highlights was hearing Keith not only croon but also share the backstory of “Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You," another early ballad he used to sing when he was opening for fellow Oklahoman Reba McEntire back in the '90s.

"Now that's on my playlist. ... His patriotic songs are fabulous, and he talked a lot about that, how he was out there in Afghanistan. That's always a great highlight to me, that he's so patriotic," said Hall, who attended Friday's concert with Michelle Barron, a friend who attends Norman's South Canadian Valley Church of Christ with her.

"'Courtesy of the Red White and Blue' was the very last one that he did."

Hall said she learned about Friday's not-so-secret show from her son, Corbin Hall, a senior music performance major at the University of Oklahoma who has a friend on staff at Hollywood Corners. While her son wasn't able to attend since he was rehearsing for Oklahoma City Parks & Recreation's July 5-9 production of “Godspell” at Will Rogers Park, the Norman resident said she was impressed with both Keith and the crowd.

"There was a lot of whooping and hollering going on ... but people were listening. They would stop and listen when he would talk," Hall said.

Although Keith warned the hometown audience that he might have to repeat some songs as he and his bandmates worked through their onstage reunion, Hall said he didn't actually need any do-overs.

"That was impressive. He had the stamina. ... Towards the end, I could tell he looked a little tired, but to me, that was to be expected," Hall said.

"That was the first time I've ever seen him live ... and I thought he sounded fabulous. And he looked really good."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Toby Keith's secret Oklahoma pop-up concerts draw hundreds of fans