Watch Luke Bryan pay tribute to Toby Keith by performing one of his hits during the NBC tribute

Luke Bryan was among dozens of country artists who paid tribute to the late Toby Keith during a taping in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena in July as part of NBC's two-hour concert special Toby Keith: American Iconwhich will be shown on Wednesday (August 28) from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. ET/PT, and Billboard has an exclusive look at the show before it airs.

For his tribute, two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year winner Bryan wore a cowboy hat given to him by his sister (who died in 2007) as he delivered Keith's first hit, “Should've Been a Cowboy.”

“That hat has been hanging in my closet for probably 15 years,” Brian said before the show, recalling his pre-Nashville years playing bars in the state of Georgia and performing “about 10 Toby Keith songs a night. ” “I wore this hat every night and since I lost my sister, I had not put this hat on [on] on stage in many years. I was walking out of the house and I said, “You know what? I'm just an old country boy from Georgia, but Toby Keith sure made me want to be a cowboy.” Tonight I'm going to be a cowboy… This one's for you, Toby.”

“Should've Been a Cowboy” spent two weeks at No. 1 Bulletin boardof the Country Airplay chart in 1993. Keith would score 20 No. 1 hits on that chart during his career, including “I Love This Bar,” “American Soldier,” and “I'm Just Talkin'.” Bout Tonight” .

Keith died in February aged 62 after a battle with stomach cancer. He will be posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year

Clock Bulletin boardCheck out Bryan's performance of “Should've Been a Cowboy” below: