Green Bay and Toby Keith shared a long and strong history that included sold-out concert after sold-out concert, the national anthem at a bitterly cold Lambeau Field and a friendship with Brett Favre.
There was even a time that local country station Y100 (WNCY-FM) claimed Keith sold more albums per capita in Green Bay than anywhere else in the world.
Keith — the country star whose swagger matched that of No. 1 hits like “How Do You Like Me Now?!” — died Monday at age 62 of stomach cancer.
In the 2000s, he was as good as a guaranteed sellout every time he announced an arena stop in Green Bay, which was often. He performed in 2002 at Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena and then made four tour stops at the Resch Center that same decade: with Willie Nelson in 2003, with Ted Nugent in 2005, with Joe Nichols in 2006 and with Jack Ingram in 2009.
He’s one of just two acts who has played back-to-back nights at the Resch Center twice. Only Eric Church has done it, too.
His popularity in northeastern Wisconsin at the time was such that he could headline the Country USA festival in Oshkosh in June 2006 and then four months later, play back-to-back shows at the Resch Center in October for his Hookin’ Up and Hangin’ Out Tour.