Jason Aldean will honor Toby Keith at the upcoming ACM Awards. The father of four will perform “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” Keith’s debut single and first No. 1 hit, in tribute to the future Country Music Hall of Fame member, who passed away on February 5 from stomach cancer.

“I’m excited to be here and perform for Toby, and honor him, just because I’ve known him for years,” Aldean said ahead of the ceremony. “I met him almost 20 years ago, probably 20 years ago. I had a chance to tour with him over the years and different things. He’s just one of the guys, so I think for us in the business, he was one of those guys that was always there, and you knew what you were going to get from him, you knew what he stood for. He never shied away from things; he spoke his mind.”

For Aldean, how Keith conducted his life and stood by his own beliefs was an inspiration for him, and something he has tried to model and replicate in his own life.

“I think for me especially, that was something that I always respected him a lot for, because it’s not always easy to do in this business,” Aldean says. “The way you feel isn’t necessarily the popular opinion. Toby was the guy that really didn’t care. He was going to be himself, and be who he was, and be unapologetic about it. I think that was something that I always admired about him, and I was glad that I had the chance to come and honor him.”

Aldean spoke out about Keith’s influence, shortly after the news of his passing was announced.

Just waking up to the news of Toby Keith’s passing. Today is a sad day for Country music and its fans. Toby was a huge presence in our business and someone we all looked up to and respected. You and your music will be forever remembered big man. pic.twitter.com/M2RwMUFdKx

— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) February 6, 2024

“Just waking up to the news of Toby Keith’s passing,” Aldean wrote on social media, sharing a few photos of the country music icon. “Today is a sad day for Country music and its fans. Toby was a huge presence in our business and someone we all looked up to and respected. You and your music will be forever remembered big man.”

In what would be one of Keith’s final performances, Aldean surprised the crowd by joining Keith at one of his shows.

“It was good to see him in good spirits and doing well,” Aldean told Taste of Country after the performance. “I know he’s gone through a pretty tough couple of years here. You just hate to see that, but you love to see somebody get up and do what they’re so good at and have done for all these years.”

Aldean is one of numerous performers who will take the stage during the ACM Awards, including  Blake Shelton with Gwen Stefani, Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan, Nate Smith with Avril Lavigne, plus Parker McCollum, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson  Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett and Chris Stapleton. Reba McEntire will host the ceremony and also perform

The ACM Awards will air live on Thursday, May 16, from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The ceremony will stream live exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. More information is available at ACMCountry.com.