Toby Keith: ‘I Don’t Apologize’ for Performing at 2017 Inauguration Concert
Toby Keith has responded to those who are criticizing his decision to perform at a concert that is part of Donald Trump's presidential inauguration festivities.
“I don’t apologize for performing for our country or military,” Keith tells Entertainment Weekly. “I performed at events for previous presidents [George W.] Bush and [Barack] Obama and over 200 shows in Iraq and Afghanistan for the USO.”
On Jan. 19, Keith will take part in the Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. Among the other artists set to take the stage at the event are Lee Greenwood, rock band 3 Doors Down and, collectively, Tim Rushlow, formerly of Little Texas, Lonestar‘s Richie McDonald and Restless Heart‘s Larry Stewart. President-elect Trump will also make remarks at the event.
“You don’t get this invitation very often,” Greenwood notes, adding that he believes the numerous artists who have declined to be part of Trump’s inauguration festivities will “regret not going in the future.”
Keith has many well-known songs with a strong sense of national pride at their core. He is a dedicated supporter of the U.S. military, most notably in songs such as “American Soldier,” and his outspoken patriotic anthem “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” was written in response to the terrorists attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
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