Daughter of Late Country Star Toby Keith Turned Grief Into Gratitude Ahead of Tribute Concert

Toby Keith and his daughter Krystal perform on stage at the 38th Annual CMA Awards in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 9, 2004. Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

Tributes to late country star Toby Keith will fill a Nashville concert special airing this week, but one in particular is guaranteed to pull at the heartstrings of fans across the nation.

Krystal Keith, the daughter of the legendary musician, gave an emotional performance of “Don’t Let the Old Man In” for the concert “Toby Keith: American Icon,” which airs Aug. 28. The concert was filmed in Nashville in July, before a sellout crowd.

For the 38-year-old, however, it was more than just a performance—it was meant to honor her father in a way that would make him proud.

“I was thinking, ‘OK, I can make it through a party song.’ But when [producers] approached me with [‘Don’t Let the Old Man In’], I was like, ‘Well crap, I already cry with that song, just listening to it. I don’t know how I’m going to sing it,’” she told People magazine.

“I’m glad they did, though, because it turned out really special. I think that he would’ve been proud of it,” she continued.

The mortality-themed song was the last one Keith performed prior to his passing back in February from stomach cancer.

While the concert may have come a bit early for Krystal, her mother Tricia, and siblings Stelen and Shelley, as they continue to mourn, Krystal said it was important to remember Keith for the musician—and person—he was.

“The team decided to have a bar on stage. There’s a huge American flag. The military is involved. ... It really epitomizes who he was and hits all of the things he loved in his life: his family, his foundation, his music and the military,” said Krystal.

Keith’s music has been a helping hand in the family’s grieving process, and listening to those songs keeps Krystal constantly “feeling close to him.”

She credits country singer Ashley Campbell for leading her to gratitude, after she lost her own father—musician Glen Campbell.

“She mentioned that she felt lucky to have his body of work and that she would be at a store and his voice would randomly come on the radio, and that she had all these songs and these lyrics and interviews and things she could look back to, and how grateful she was of that,” she said.

“I thought, ‘That’s a great way to look at it.’ Not everybody has that. I try to hold onto the gratitude there.”

Meanwhile, other famous faces will appear on stage for the two-hour special, including singers Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan, singing some of Keith’s biggest hits with their own personal twists.

“He was an, ‘Aw shucks, this is not necessary’ kind of guy,” says Krystal. “He wouldn’t want us to have this big thing for him, but he would also be honored that those artists took time out of their schedules and made that happen and honored him in such a way and said such nice words about him.”

A portion of proceeds collected from ticket sales from the event will go towards The Toby Keith Foundation’s OK Kids Korral—a “haven” for families with children receiving cancer treatments—and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals.

“I think a majority of the good deeds he did will never even be known, because he loved doing it behind closed doors,” said Krystal.

Krystal thinks of her father often and said that if she could talk to him today, she would tell him his family is doing fine.

“[I’d tell him] that we’re all going to be OK. I think he knew that. ... He told us that we’d be OK, but just to know that he knows we’re going to be OK would be great.”

“Toby Keith: American Icon” will stream on Peacock on Aug. 29 after airing on NBC Wednesday.