Toby Keith Welcomed This Artist Into Country Music Before Anyone Else: “He Had No Boundaries”

From the songs he wrote to the musicians he chose to work with, the late country music icon Toby Keith was a man who liked doing things his own way—including when he welcomed an aspiring artist into country music long before anyone else accepted the newcomer into their world. Genre didn’t matter to Keith. Guts and talent did.

Keith gave a much-needed boost to several country artists’ careers over the years, putting fresh-faced newbies like Blake Shelton and Eric Church on his national tours in the early 2000s. With these artists, there was a clear connection between them and their headlining act. But that certainly wasn’t a requirement for Keith’s support.

Toby Keith Welcomed Post Malone Into Country Music

During a 2024 interview with the Associated Press at the American Country Music Awards, recording artist George Birge remembered Toby Keith as “one of the most generous people that I’ve ever met. He’s one of the most talented songwriters I ever met. He had no boundaries when it came to genre. He just respected talent.”

“Not a lot of people know this, but when we started touring probably eight years ago, Toby was one of the first people to have Post Malone on his bus [around the time of] his first hit, “White Iverson.” Me, Toby, and Post played country music on the bus until 4:00 in the morning, and that was before anybody else in country music was wanting Post to come into the genre,” Birge told AP.

Earlier that year, Birge shared a throwback photo on social media that showed him and Post Malone talking to Toby Keith outside a tour bus (presumably Keith’s). On an episode of the Bobby Bones Show, Birge explained that was the night he met Post Malone, who he was surprised to find “is a huge Toby Keith fan and a huge country music fan. He played “Kansas City Blues,” he played some Randy Travis, he played some Merle Haggard. He blew me away with his knowledge of country music. It was really, really cool.”

Other Stars Have Noticed Post Malone’s Love of Country, Too

Post Malone first broke into the music scene as a hip-hop artist with his debut hit “White Iverson” in 2015. He wouldn’t make his country debut until almost a decade later when he collaborated with Morgan Wallen on the 2024 track “I Had Some Help.” But Post Malone has long roots in country music, stretching back to his childhood in Texas. This lifelong love of the genre has been apparent to stars like Toby Keith and other country icons like Blake Shelton.

In an exclusive American Songwriter interview, Blake Shelton talked to us about his collaborative track with Post, “Pour Me a Drink,” the former hip-hop star’s upcoming album ‘F-1 Trillion,’ and how palpable Post Malone’s love for country music was during their time together.

“This guy grew up in Texas. I think, just naturally, he grew up hearing all this stuff, and so he’s just super excited about country music. I think he probably feels like a new artist again. Now he’s doing it. You can tell he’s been holding it in for a while. He’s super fired up about it.”

Photo by Steve Galli/Shutterstock