Country's Biggest Stars Join 40,000 Fans to Celebrate Fifth Anniversary of Boots and Hearts

- Canada's Largest Country Music Festival Throws One Heck of a Party -

ORO-MEDONTE, ON, Aug. 8, 2016 /CNW/ - The fifth anniversary of the Boots and Hearts Music Festival this past weekend was celebrated with 40,000 fans and outstanding performances from headliners Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw and Dierks Bentley, along with Jake Owen, Sam Hunt, Chase Rice, Dean Brody and 35 more artists. Boots and Hearts is the largest country music festival of its kind ever to be hosted on Canadian soil and has been awarded CCMA Festival of the Year in 2014 and 2015 along with CMW Festival of the year in 2015.  The 2017 event will take place August 10^th – 13^th at Burl's Creek Event Grounds. 

"Since the beginning we wanted to build the best country music festival in the world and our fans and artists have come together over the past five years to create a community and this weekend is one they will never forget," said Stan Dunford, CEO, Republic Live.  "Country music is about building a community, telling stories and having fun.  Looking out at the crowd this weekend and talking with the artists, that's exactly what happened at Boots and Hearts. This past weekend was off the charts and we can't wait to have all our fans back here next summer for Boots and Hearts 2017 and are already planning how to make it even more exciting."

The festival opened with Jake Owen on Thursday evening and the biggest kick-off party Boots and Hearts has ever seen; 30,000 people in attendance were singing along to his hit American Country Love Song while Jake danced barefoot on the stage, electrifying fans.  Sam Hunt held a House Party on the main stage Friday and Dierks Bentley closed the night with Drunk on a Plane as a plane cockpit appeared on stage followed by a 5-minute fireworks display to mark the festival's anniversary celebrations.  Saturday, Dean Brody was joined by Alan Doyle on stage to sing their weekend anthem It's Friday with fans waving flags high in the crowd for the two Canadians. The evening was capped with Blake Shelton where line dancing broke out spontaneously when he performed Footloose for his encore.  Chase Rice enamoured crowds Sunday with his performance of Gonna Wanna Tonight and Tim McGraw closed the festival with his hit Live Like You Were Dying.

The weekend was marked by surprise performances in VIP and the Coors Banquet Saloon and the SiriusXm Fan Fair Village gave hundreds of fans up-close-and-personal meet and greets with artists like Tim Hicks, Diamond Rio, Cam, Chase Bryant, Jason Blaine, Jason McCoy, and many more. The annual Emerging Artist Showcase, presented by SiriusXM Canada took the Front Porch stage on Saturday featuring seven up-and-coming artists from across Canada. Vanessa Marie Carter was announced as the winner, with Jesse Gold as the runner up.  In addition to winning a performance on the main stage at Boots and Hearts 2016, she will receive an all-inclusive trip to Nashville, a release with Universal Music Canada, the country's leading music company, and an opportunity to perform again at Boots and Hearts 2017.

Boots and Hearts is an annual country music festival event run by Republic Live, and will take place at Burl's Creek Event Grounds, in Oro-Medonte Ontario August 10^th – 13^th in 2017.  For more information visit www.bootsandhearts.com  

To access complimentary images of the event the full photo gallery is available here:
http://republiclive.zenfolio.com/f427083269
Password: Boot5m3dia!

SOURCE Boots and Hearts Music Festival

Image with caption: "Country's Biggest Stars Join 40,000 Fans to Celebrate Fifth Anniversary of Boots and Hearts (CNW Group/Boots and Hearts Music Festival)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160808_C4239_PHOTO_EN_749337.jpg

Laura Kennedy, Vice President, Public Relations and Marketing, Republic Live, Tel. [phone], Email: [email protected]