DeWayne Terry doesn't talk about Toby Keith the way most tribute artists do. There's no rehearsed pitch, no polished origin story. When he tells you how this whole thing started, it sounds more like a guy working through something he still hasn't fully made sense of.

"When Toby passed away, I felt really sad. Like I had let someone down. It was a weird feeling."

That feeling is what built the American Soldier Show, now recognized as the #1 Toby Keith tribute show in the nation. And it all began about 100 miles down an Oklahoma highway.

DeWayne was born in Chandler, Oklahoma. Toby Keith was born in Clinton. About 100 miles apart, same red dirt, same country radio bleeding through the walls growing up.

Their paths crossed more than once over the years, and none of it was planned. DeWayne was playing acoustic in a Nashville bar when Toby walked in, introduced himself, and told him he sounded pretty good. Years later, after the OU-Colorado Big 12 Championship game in Houston, they ran into each other again at a bar. Toby remembered him from Nashville. He grabbed a napkin, wrote down a number, and told DeWayne to call it any time he wanted backstage access at a show.

DeWayne lost the napkin that night.

A few years after that, at a concert in Arlington with second-row seats, Toby was mid-song during "Whiskey Girl" when he walked over, pointed straight at DeWayne, made a phone call motion, shrugged, grinned, and walked away. His friends looked at him. Did he know Toby Keith? "I said sort of, but not really."

When Toby died, DeWayne drove to Norman, Oklahoma, for a memorial benefit show and played acoustic for Toby's foundation. Friends of Toby who were there told him he needed to start a tribute. "So here we are," he says.

DeWayne has thought about this more than most people have.

"The cowboy hat has been a tool of the working cowboy worldwide, to keep the sun off his face and neck and protect against harsh weather, wind, rain, sleet, and snow. But it is also a cowboy's identity, his signature, his brand. A cowboy will give a hat his own shape and style that fits his persona or character."

For DeWayne, that's not a quote for a press release. He ranches in the evenings and performs at night. The hat goes on both times, and it means the same thing either way.

DeWayne met Paul Fulks, Business Development Leader at Twinstone Hats, and heard about the Quintero family and how the brand was built.

"They are American-made, handmade. A human touches or is involved in each and every step of the production of a Twinstone hat. The Quintero sisters are a prime example of hard-working immigrant parents who pass on the tradition of a self-built family business. That excites me to the core. The example of being an American."

First time he put one on, he knew.

"The feel of something handmade, by laboring human hands. The first thing that came to mind was quality."

He is also straightforward about what endorsing something means to him. "I am not a car salesman. I could never endorse something that I don't believe in and support 100 percent."

On the hat itself, he doesn't pick just one thing. "Fit, feel, style, durability, all of the above. Plus, Twinstone gives you so many different choices. Even if you order out of the catalog, you can rest assured that a Twinstone hat is quality, durability, and style every time." He paused and laughed. "That needs to be a Twinstone slogan."

One sentence to sum up the partnership? "Amazing. What a great opportunity to represent and be part of a great family company, product, and brand."

The American Soldier Show is performing across the country and bringing the most authentic Toby Keith tribute experience on the road today. DeWayne does it every night in a handcrafted cowboy hat made in the USA.

Visit: americansoldiershow.com | Follow DeWayne: Facebook | Shop DeWayne's Hat: The Toby