Toby Keith‘s kids spoke to how the family is doing after the singer’s death, and in a word, they’re “surviving.”

Son Stelen and daughters Shelley and Krystal spoke with Taste of Country ahead of the taping of Toby Keith: American Icon, a tribute concert set for NBC on Aug. 28. Their mom, Tricia, was also in the audience, but did not talk to media.

Related: Toby Keith’s Final Interview With Taste of Country

The three have attended tributes to their father before, and Stelen even spoke to accept his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The July 29 taping was their first time talking in detail about what they’ve gone through.

“You just survive,” Shelley Rowland Covel says. “I don’t think you lose someone that’s so great, so important in your life — you don’t get over it. You just have to get through it, which means it’s always there.”

Public support has been a bit of a double-edged sword, Krystal Keith admits. On a good day, a well-meaning comment from a fan could leave them spiraling, but on a bad day, that’s just the kind of love each one needs.

“It’s pretty much a day-by-day thing,” Stelen shares. “You might wake up one morning and just be a wreck. You might wake up one morning and be OK.”

Keith’s youngest child also admits that his father would have mixed feelings about this particular event. On one hand, any concert that benefits the OK Kids Korral is good by him, but on the other hand, he’d think everyone coming together for his sake was “a big fuss.”

If he was able to witness it all from the sidelines, Keith might be a bit jealous. The three all agreed that while their father identified as a songwriter first, entertaining was a close second.

“He would get on any stage with a live mic on it,” Stelen says in the video above, as his two sisters smile and nod.

The Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion ceremony is typically in October in Nashville, and Stelen says the whole family will be on hand for it. Plans for who will talk and perform have not been solidified. Krystal says it’s all one day at a time.

“Dad’s always with us, and that’s what I remind myself,” Shelley says. “Dad’s always with us. Dad’s not gone. Dad’s here. You just learn how to live differently.”

Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer of Video Content at Taste of Country. He specializes in country music interviews, trend analysis and the Secret History of Country Music. Additionally, Billy covers Yellowstone, 1923 and related television shows through the Dutton Rules podcast. To date, he’s written more than 13,000 articles for Taste of Country and produced over 3,000 videos for the Taste of Country YouTube channel.