After a 2 year break, sort of, Boots and Hearts re-opened the gates on Thursday afternoon and thousands of country music fans flooded Burl’s Creek for the annual kick-off party.

Amber-Jo Bowman performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_Amber-Jo-2
Amber-Jo Bowman performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Amber-Jo Bowman performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Justin Fancy performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_JustinFancy
Justin Fancy performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Justin Fancy performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Cam Bogle performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CamBogle
Cam Bogle performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Cam Bogle performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Owen Riegling performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_OwenReigling-2
Owen Riegling performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Owen Riegling performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Taylor-Rae performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_Taylor-Rae
Taylor-Rae performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Taylor-Rae performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Annika performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_Annika
Annika performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Annika performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
The emerging artist showcase kicked off the night with 8 finalists vying for the coveted title. In the end it came down to two: Owen Riegling and Taylor-Rae. Which of the two will be crowned the 2022 Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist? We’ll find that out on Sunday afternoon!

Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye

Riley Taylor took to the stage after the emerging artist contest wrapped up and hit the growing crowd with 30 minutes of songs ranging from his own cuts all the way to some covers one of which was family tradition that got the crowd singing along to.

Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye

Next up was Callista Clark and her talent was evident from the first note of the first song. She played a new song titled “Brave Girl” and also revealed that her very first album would be released sometime in October.

Niko Moon headlined the stage with an upbeat set saying in the middle of his set he gets asked why he doesn’t play slow songs and his reply was life’s too short to be sad and shit. Halfway through his set he did a handful of songs acoustically that he has wrote for other artists including Zac Brown bands “Loving you easy” and “Keep me in mind” the latter was Niko’s first #1 song. He also played Dierks Bentley’s “Beers on me” and “Gone” then lastly played a song he wrote for Morgan Wallen which got a huge cheer from the crowd BUT not as loud as when Niko told the crowd why he was wearing the pink shirt he had on he revealed to the Boots and Hearts crowd that him and his wife are welcoming a baby girl in October. Before he started into his last song “good time” he told everyone to meet him over at the artist merch area and he was going to stay to meet everybody that wanted to meet him no matter how long it took/.
Pretty safe to say that everybody had a good time on Thursday night at Boots and Hearts. The party continues today with performances by Jess and Tay, Don Amero, David Boyd Janes, Jason Blaine, Mackenzie Porter, Dustin Lynch, Jake Owen and many more!! For a full schedule visit www.bootsandhearts.com

More Photos

Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-6
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-8
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Callista_Clark_005
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Callista_Clark_002
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-5
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Riley_Taylor_002
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-3
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-14
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-15
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-12
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Callista_Clark_004
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-17
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Riley_Taylor_001
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-9
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Riley_Taylor_005
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-2
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Callista_Clark_003
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Callista_Clark_001
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-4
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-7
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-13
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-16
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-11
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Riley_Taylor_003
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Riley_Taylor_004
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Riley Taylor performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Niko Moon performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye Boots_And_Hearts_Niko_Moon_001
Niko Moon performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Niko Moon performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Spencer Smye
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure ElliottDeseure_CallistaClark-10
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure
Callista Clark performed at the Boots And Hearts in Oro Medonte, Canada. Photo : Elliott Deseure