Written by Darlene Altmann.
I headed down to the Boots And Hearts music festival on Saturday August 2 2014. I made my way from Burlington On to Bowmanville where the festival takes place.
Thankfully, I missed the hail and the trecherous down pour, which we call Canadian weather, the night before! It seems Boots And Hearts has a history of crazy weather! Its not Boots and Hearts without the rain.
This is the third annual Boots And Hearts festival which runs over the Civic long weekend, this year from Thursday July 31 to Sunday Aug 3 2014. Boots got their party started with a bang Thursday night with their Kick-off party featuring The Recklaws, Naltalie Stovall And The Drive, Brett Kissel and to end the night, the talented Dallas Smith.
I was not sure what to expect as this was my very first covering the Boots And Hearts festival I was so excited to see for myself what the big hype was about!
I brought my rain jacket and rain boots, but luck was on Boots And Hearts side for the rest of the festival! The festival is jam packed with entertainment! They had bull ridding competition, Miss Boots And Hearts competition on Saturday! They had a late night dance party every night which continued wee hours of the morn.
Saturday night had an awesome line up with Canadian singer Tim Hicks who opened up with his monster hit “Here Comes The Thunder!” He was signing beach balls and throwing them into the audience, and the crowd was loving it! He also took pictures of the audience and tweeted them.
Next act was the artistic Lee Brice. He warmed up the audience by singing his beer, partying anthems and love ballads. He really looked like he was enjoying himself in Canada, as if he was playing for a group of old friends! He opened up with “Hard To Love,” for all the ladies then sang his drinking songs. When he sang his song “Beer” he got the whole audience to sing with him! During his encore songs, Lee put on a Boots And Hearts personalized Team Canada Jersey. Of course the audience loved it!
He then sang his new hit “I Don’t Dance” and he saved the best for last, “Parking Lot Party”
Now by this time most of the country fans where by the main stage, but for those that were still drinking by their campsites, they were running to the main stage, pushing and making their way up to the front of the stage to get a glimpse of the headliner of the night Luke Bryan. He took to the stage to sing “That’s My kind of Night” surprising the audience with flames shooting out of both sides of the stage! What an entertainer! The crowd went wild! Next he sang “Rain,” and at that moment, the crowd was so hyped, no one cared if it rained!
What a party! Lee came back on stage to sing “Crazy Girl,” by Eli Young Band! And also sang a Canadian classic ” Summer of 69″
Sunday, the party continued, Boots and Hearts gave away a Harley Davidson Boots and Hearts themed motorcycle to one very happy country fan from Oshawa.
I got a chance to review Canadian singer song writer from Alberta Gord Bamford at media tent. No surprises, he did mentioned his hectic schedule since April. His 7th annual cherty golf classic is coming up to raise money for kids. It’s nice to see some great Canadian talent! Gord sang all of his hits! Of course he wore his signitiure white cowboy hat.
The recklaws announced the Boots and Hearts emerging artist of 2014, Trinity Bradshaw! She belted out a tune with confidence and incredible stage presence! She got to warm up the crowd for the energetic Hunter Hayes. I was lucky enough to see Hunter, he jumps around the stage and doesn’t stop! He was astonishing to see. He opened up with “Storyline” a song from his new album of the same name. Next he sang “Wild Card.” He is very interactive with the crowd and loves his fans, and the fans sure love him! He sang all his hits, and his encore was “I want Crazy,” and he sure had his pick of crazy that night.
Boots And Hearts is a must for all country fans! I’m glad I got the chance to experience part of it!
