New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash started strong with a performance from Thomas Rhett. Then, two of country music’s biggest stars took the stage. Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins cranked the celebration up to 11 with a rocking rendition of their collaboration “Hillbilly Bone.” Watch a clip of the performance below.

Videos

The pair took the stage at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park to get the New Year’s celebration rocking. The crowd was ready to party long before Shelton and Adkins took the stage. However, the duo was able to crank things up a notch and really set the tone for the night.

Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins’ “Hillbilly Bone”

“Hillbilly Bone” has a strong Nashville pedigree. Hitmakers Luke Laird and Craig Wiseman co-penned the song. Then, Shelton and Adkins recorded it. The song became the title track from Shelton’s 2010 Extended Play. Adkins also included it on his 2010 album Cowboy’s Back in Town.

“Hillbilly Bone” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and reached No. 40 on the publication’s Hot 100 chart, giving Adkins and Shelton some crossover chart success. However, that was just the beginning for the up-tempo track. It also won Vocal Event of the Year at the 2010 ACM Awards. More importantly, it gave the “OIe Red” singer his first ACM Award.

The song is a tongue-in-cheek look at how everyone can enjoy “country” things even if they aren’t from the South. It might take a singing fiddle or a good-looking country girl to bring out one’s “Hillbilly Bone” but everyone has one, according to the song’s lyrics.

According to Songfacts, Shelton said he invited Adkins to duet with him on the song because it sounded like something the “You’re Gonna Miss This” singer would record. “It sounds like a Trace Adkins song. When I heard it, I thought, ‘Why didn’t Trace get his hands on it first,’” Shelton said. “I feel like he’s really a friend. And when this is all over, we’ll still be friends.”

During their performance tonight, fans could clearly see that the friendship is still there more than a decade later.