Noting that he "influenced every form of music," country star Luke Bryan led off a tribute to Chuck Berry at the 2017 American Country Music Awards last night — and was joined by Joe Walsh, who chipped in for a performance of Berry's classic "Johnny B. Goode."

With Bryan playing piano and handling the verses alongside his co-host for the night, fellow country vet Dierks Bentley, Walsh waded in to do what he does best: play guitar. The performance was high-energy enough that before segueing into his opening monologue with Bentley, Bryan quipped, "Gotta get my breath back after that one!"

known to mimic Berry's signature stage move in concert and was one among a slew of respected rock guitarists on hand for the concert captured in the classic Berry documentary
Berry's death at the age of 90 on March 18, Walsh took to Twitter to honor the life and legacy of the groundbreaking guitarist.

Walsh's appearance at the ACMs might have raised a couple of eyebrows in the audience, but it was far from the most unusual guest spot of the night. Nineties hitmakers the Backstreet Boys were also on hand, with the pop troupe reprising their vocal performance during Florida Georgia Line's rendition of their latest single, "God, Your Mama and Me."

See Joe Walsh in 1981's Best Rock Albums

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