Remembering Toby Keith and His 2002 Concert at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, IN

Country music fans woke up to really sad news this morning. Toby Keith, who bravely fought a battle with stomach cancer the last couple of years, has passed away at 62. The announcement was made on Toby's official social media pages overnight.

I, like many people, was a huge fan of Toby's music. Toby, of course, burst onto the country charts way back in 1993 with his song "Should've Been a Cowboy." That song, his debut single, rocketed to #1!  In his storied career, Toby hit #1 a total of twenty times with songs like "How Do You Like Me Now?", "I Wanna Talk About Me," "American Ride," and "American Soldier."

The news of Toby's death had me immediately reminiscing about his 2002 concert at Roberts Stadium in Evansville. I was in the arena that night. If memory serves me correctly, I had floor seats and was just rows from the stage.

I remember several things in particular about that show. Jamie O'Neal was his opening act. Remember her?

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At the time, Jamie had a couple of huge hits of her own- "When I Think About Angels" and "There Is No Arizona."

Randomly, I also seem to recall Toby wearing brown leather pants for that concert. That memory is debatable, but I am pretty sure he was.

That said, I know what my absolute favorite memory of that show was. Hands down. That particular concert was just a few months after 9/11. Toby rolled into Roberts Stadium on March 14th, 2002 and, at that time, the nation was completely unified because of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Out of the ash, a fighting American spirit prevailed and Toby rallied his fans and troops with his fiery battle cry- "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)."

Most of the people in that crowd that night had not heard that song before and I will never forget hearing it for the first time. Toby sang the holy heck out of it and Roberts Stadium erupted into thunderous, patriotic roar.  That song quickly became the post-9/11 anthem it was written to be. Over twenty years later, that song still resonates.

Here's a look at Toby's set list from that Evansville show back in 2002. According to the website ConcertArchives.org, it's not the exact set list, but it mirrors the song order performed at other Toby concerts around that date. So, it's likely close.

1. "Pull My Chain"
2. "Country Comes to Town"
3. "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight"
4. "Dream Walkin'"
5. "Should've Been a Cowboy"
6. "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This"
7. "You Ain't Much Fun"
8. "Getcha Some"
9. "My List"
10. "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You"
11. "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action"
12. "Courtesy of the Red
13. White and Blue (The Angry American)"
14. "I Wanna Talk About Me"
15. "How Do You Like Me Now?!"