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Toby Keith’s Daughter, Krystal, Honors Her Father & Service Members With “American Solider” Performance During Steelers Halftime
Singing in honor of the Big Dog Daddy.
Yesterday, November 16, Toby Keith‘s daughter ran onto the 50-yard line at Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to honor her father’s life and legacy while cheering on a team he so dearly loved. During the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Krystal Keith kicked off the game by laying down a stellar performance of the national anthem.
Keith, who inherited the same musical talent as her father, has a great set of pipes and has crushed the national anthem many times, and yesterday was no exception. However, her halftime performance was something even more special, and was one I am sure her father looked down on with a big old grin.
During halftime, Keith retook center field and performed “American Soldier,” honoring all the service men and women who were present at the game. The patriotic performance was a part of the Steelers’ Salute to Service game, which honors active-duty service members and veterans. “The Salute to Service game, an annual NFL initiative, honors our nation’s service members, veterans, and their families,” per a Pittsburgh Steelers press release.
Krystal Keith sang the National Anthem in honor of her late father, Toby Keith, who sang the National Anthem at the first regular season game in our stadium back in 2001 against the Bengals.
At halftime, she performed two of his songs, 'Don't Let the Old Man In' and 'American… pic.twitter.com/0wKTyXZ1Lm
— Acrisure Stadium (@AcrisureStadium) November 16, 2025
The number one hit from Keith was co-written with Chuck Cannon. Keith shared that he penned the tune “for all the times that I get to meet the troops on these USO tours, and since Courtesy of Red, White, and Blue, the P.O.W.s and the families that have come and brought me back my old CD covers and stuff that they had and shown how much support they had (for me), this is my support for the American fighting men and women.”
There is no denying that Toby Keith was the ultimate patriot, and this was a perfect song choice to honor those in active service during the game… Although a little “boot up you a**” action from “Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue” would have also been a stadium hit.
Keith also performed “Don’t Let The Old Man In,” his 2019 song that was recorded for Clint Eastwood’s movie The Mule. The song took on a new, special significance when Toby performed it last fall at the People’s Choice Country Music Awards and was re-released as a single soon thereafter.
Krystal brought folks to tears when performing this song about making every moment of your life count during his 2024 tribute concert, and brought the same emotion to the performance yesterday.
“Many moons I have lived
My body’s weathered and worn
Ask yourself how old would you be
If you didn’t know the day you were born
Try to love on your wife
And stay close to your friends
Toast each sundown with wine
Don’t let the old man in”
Krystal took to Instagram after the game to share how surreal her performances were and to reflect on the history she has as a Steelers fan because of her father.
“Yesterday was a dream come true. Every moment of sitting on my dad’s lap as a kid, watching The Bus plow through defenders, came rushing back when I stepped on Heinz Field. I have proudly worn Steelers colors my entire life, and properly introducing my girls to my team in Steel City and honoring both my dad and servicemen and women by singing the anthem and doing the halftime show was such an honor.
My dad was the first person to sing the anthem in this stadium in 2001, right after 9/11. Steelers dominated the Bengals then, and they happened to also be playing the Bengals again for yesterday’s game, and they pulled off another victory! That makes us 2-0 as a family. The Keith/Steelers winning streak continues!
Thank you Steelers for having us. It was an honor.”
The Steelers had the luck of Toby Keith on their side yesterday. Long live the Big Dog Daddy.
View this post on Instagram
Before you go, fire up “American Soldier” from Toby Keith himself.
The post Toby Keith’s Daughter, Krystal, Honors Her Father & Service Members With “American Solider” Performance During Steelers Halftime first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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