Toby Keith recently surprised a handful of unsuspecting patrons when he treated them to a round of songs during his visit to a luxury boutique hotel in Norman, Oklahoma, called the Noun Hotel.
The legendary country music singer, 61, crashed married country music duo Tim and Taylor Gore’s set on Friday (Nov. 18) at ONE bar, located inside the establishment, which is just located on the Historic Campus Corner, just steps away from the University of Oklahoma. Keith had popped in to listen to some music and was enthralled by the duo’s energy-filled performance. So much so he got up to join them for a full 30 minutes.
@musicmayhemmagazine That moment when @tobykeithofficial crashes your pop-up concert at a hotel bar in Oklahoma! @timandtaylorofficial 🎶👏🏼
“It was a lot of fun getting to play with Toby. He still sounds great. We were just hoping we’d know how to play every song he wanted to sing!” Taylor, 27, told Music Mayhem of the surprise appearance, which caught her and her husband off guard. “When Toby started walking towards us, I thought he was just gonna tell us ‘good job’ or something of that nature and go back and sit down, but he then got up and started singing [George Strait’s] ‘Amarillo By Morning.’”
@musicmayhemmagazine @Toby Keith crashed @Tim & Taylor’s pop-up concert at the Noun Hotel in Oklahoma last week and performed a 30-minute set with the husband and wife duo. #TobyKeith
Along with Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning,” Keith also duetted with the husband and wife on several other songs, including the Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Going On,” and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny Be Good.” The trio also performed Keith’s hits, “I Love This Bar” and “Courtesy of The Red White & Blue,” amongst others.
@musicmayhemmagazine @tobykeithofficial honored the late Jerry Lee Lewis during his surprise appearance with @timandtaylorofficial in Oklahoma with a cover of one of his most iconic hits. 👏🏼 #TobyKeith
Tim And Taylor took to social media to share their experience with Keith. On TikTok, they posted a video of themselves performing “Courtesy of The Red White & Blue” alongside the hitmaker, who recently received the prestigious BMI Icon award for his stellar contributions to country music.
“When Toby Keith gets up during your gig to sing ‘Courtesy of The Red White & Blue.’ We had so much fun last weekend in Norman, OK. Thanks for singing with us @Toby Keith!!!” The caption reads alongside the clip.
@timandtaylorofficial We had so much fun last weekend in Norman, OK. Thanks for singing with us @Toby Keith !!! 🤠 #tobykeith #courtesyoftheredwhiteandblue #timandtaylor
“Once everyone knew it was Toby, the entire bar had their cell phones out, and the hotel staff had to get security to stand in front of us and hold people back,” Taylor, who plays violin in the duo, recalled of the unforgettable spur of the moment. “It was pretty crazy.”
For the husband/wife duo, Keith’s visit was more than just a crashed performance. Tim And Taylor, who met in 2013 and tied the knot in 2021, formed their musical partnership in 2014. They currently reside in Nashville, Tennessee, and have been pursuing their careers in Music City for a while now. They’ve unexpectedly played with other big-named musicians such as Keith Urban, but they say they credit Toby Keith for inspiring them to chase their dreams.
“Toby has been a huge influence on Tim and me over the years,” Taylor explained to Music Mayhem. “I’d say Tim a little more, but between his songwriting, music videos, and signature sound, he’s one of the many reasons we both do what we do today.”
“We have a long history of rejection in the music industry, but we believe in what we do, and we will never quit chasing our dreams,” the pair who are currently working on new music with producer Brandon Hood, said.
Tim And Taylor’s recently released a brand-new tune called “Asking For A Friend.” The rising duo is also in the process of releasing two Holiday songs, which are expected to arrive on November 25, 2022. In addition to the Christmas tunes, Tim And Taylor promise more new music in 2023.
Keith, meanwhile, recently delivered his first televised interview since revealing his stomach cancer diagnosis.
During the sit-down, he discussed if he will return to the road to tour in the near future, telling Cody Alan of CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown, “Yeah, I’m thinking about… I’m thinking about getting back to fightin’ shape. I need a little bit of time to just rest up and heal up. It’s pretty debilitating to have to go through all that, but as long as everything stays hunky-dory then we’ll look at something good in the future.”
Aside from this unplanned hotel gig alongside Tim And Taylor, Keith’s most recent show was a 60-minute set at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Lexington, Kentucky, which also marked his return to the stage.
