Boots and Hearts weekend start off strong (THURSDAY HIGHLIGHTS)

Yee-haw ! One of our favorite festivals of the summer, Boots and Hearts, returns to Burl’s Creek Event Grounds during the August 9-12 weekend.  Welcoming over 40 country music artists, the festival draws in over 40,000 fans making this the largest Canadian outdoor country music festival.

To kick off the long weekend, here are some of our highlights from the first day of the festival.

Kris Barclay started the long weekend off at the Front Porch Stage with a 30-minute set. It was a quiet day, as most campers were in the grounds getting ready for the night festivities. But the attendees who did watch Barclay perform were all smiles after seeing the 2018 Emerging artist showcase winner!

Following Barclay’s performance, we had The Cadillac Three hit the stage for a 45-minute set. By this time, more festival-goers were starting to show up.

The final act of the night was Chase Rice, who performed a 75-minute set. Rice performed his hit single “Ride” at least twice, each with a different remix and even let his band showcase their talent by covering a solo song. He had the crowd dance to Blink 182’s “All the Small Things” and even the national anthem O Canada! Rice’s performance was the perfect way to end the first night of Boots and Hearts. His performance was then followed by the Monster Energy Late Night Dance party where people were getting wild, shirts were coming off, people were dancing while on the floor.

[Photography by Michael Frymus]