So, the summer concert schedule is upon us and let me tell you if you LOVE live music you are going to really enjoy this summer. I have put together a list of MUST SEE but heck, I only say they are must see because well I think they are pretty damn talented individuals as well. I know we can’t hit them all. But we know I am going to do my best 😉
Eli Young, Tebey & Dani Strong @ Pheonix
June 4th – Eli Young Band with Tebey and Dani Strong @ Pheonix Concert Hall (Toronto)
Having seen both Eli Young & Tebey before I can promise you this has GREAT VALUE. The good folks over at KX Country in the GTA have really set the summer up nicely with this one. Tickets available here.
June 6 – Darius Rucker, Brett Eldredge, Brothers Osborne & A Thousand Horses @ Molson Ampatheatre
So for $70 you can see one hell of a show. I have personally seen Darius 5x over the last 2.5 years as he has been a busy man. But his show is fantastic and to have the amazing talent in this line up with a personal favorite A Thousand Horses with thier current hit SMOKE Climbing the charts you really can’t go wrong. Both Brett & The Brothers Osborne also put on fantastic sets so this one is a #MUSTSEE in my books. Grab what few tickets remain here for this one. June is a busy month!
June 12 – Kip Moore @ Casino Rama
With this guy flying off the charts and selling out shows all over North America this is Kip’s ONLY stop in Ontario this summer and is a HOT Ticket to get. However a limited number of tickets were just released so grab them here if ya wanna see the Somthin Bout A Truck hit maker. And then just days later…
June 18th – Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes & Sam Hunt
I know thats not an error thats the real line up. This isn’t a festival line up they actually are all on tour together! Seriously this is the line up of the summer for one night shows. It has the hottest acts of the summer minus Cole Swindell. With both Hunter Hayes & Sam Hunt having HUGE success over the last 12 months along Lady A’s fantastic new album which has given us some great tracks. So this one hits you at about $90 but all 3 put on a hell of a show so grab them while you still can here.
Take a breather,cause the next one isn’t unil…
June 26-27th – KX Country presents Cider Fest 2015 at Puddicombe Estate in Stoney Creek, Ontario
Friday, June 26 – The Road Hammers, Brett Kissel, Dry County
Saturday, June 27 – Emerson Drive, Jess Moskaluke, Bobby Wills
Hold your hats here folks thats one hell of a Canadian country music lineup! $95 gets you in for the weekend. Cider Fest Tickets Here.
July 8th & 9th – Foo Fighters @ Molson Amphitheatre
Ya I know, I am a crazy about Country music where do the Foo Fighters fit in? Well, Dave Grohl is one hell of a human and I totally respect EVERYTHING he has done for music. And for that reason alone this show is on my #MustSee list. I feel the Foo Fighters are just a band you have to say you saw. Even thought it would have been alot cooler to see them in a garage in Milton a year or two back for the Edge 102.1 contest promo but didn’t get that invite (Lost in the mail I assume) but down by the lake works fine to. And no link to tickets cause they sold out both nights. Sorry.
Next one is tough, So I have to put down both events as they are happening on the same weekend.
Eastern Ontario gets a new Camping & Country Music Festival.
July 24-26 – Tim Hicks, Brett Kissel, Emerson Drive, Kira Isabela, Erik Dylan, River Town Saints, Abby Stewart @ Capital Country Fest – Spencerville, Ontario
This first time Festival has paired up with an already exciting weekend of Rodeo with the Spencerville Stampede. So for enterainment value and bang for your buck you can’t go wrong for $113 for Rodeo & Concerts for the entrire weekend. They are still to announce a Sunday line up so it will add even more value to the ticket price for sure.
The other event happeing that weekend which is going to a a HUGE HIT I am sure is.
WayHome Festival – Neil Young, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, Alt-J, Modest Mouse, and Hozier are named Headliners @ Burls Creek – Oro-Mendote, Ontario
This one has the making as one EPIC weekend of fantastic eclectic music. This will be Canada’s Bonaroo there is no doubt in my mind over the next 3 or 4 years the same way its big sister Boots & Hearts has grown over the last 4 years. Speaking of which, its next on the MUST SEE list.
August 6th-9th – Boots & Hearts Music Festival – Florida Georgia Line, Eric Church, Brad Paisley, Dallas Smith, Justin Moore, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Chad Brownlee, Small Town Pistols + So Many More
So ya, this is the big one of the summer. And I have to say they have done another bang up job with 4 days of unreal Country music. From the Emerging Artists line up to the BIG names like Brad Paisley and FGL I can’t wait to see the crowd erupt and the Eric Church hits the stage because there will be 45,000+ people screaming DRINK IN MY HAND right back at him. If you love festivals and you love country music the people at Republic Live know how to throw a party!
We then move on pretty much to close out the summer..
August 28-29th – Lucknow Music In The Fields – The Band Perry, Dallas Smith, Easton Corbin, Chad Brownlee, Autumn Hill, Jess Moskaluke + More- Lucknow Ontario
So last year I rated this the FESTIVAL OF THE SUMMER… both Friday & Saturday had massive line ups! Dierks Bentley, Tim Hicks, Gord Bamford, The Road Hammers, Brett Kissel + So many more. It was the best bang for your buck with that line up and only $100 for both nights. And to be honest this isn’t a venue that holds 30,000 people. I believe when they sell out its something like 12,000 so lots of room to spread out and bring a lawn chair. Family friendly as well. SOLD OUT AGAIN this year.. Congrats to the team putting
Last show of the summer that you can’t miss is
Sept 4th – Zac Brown Band @ Molson Ampitheatre
I don’t really have to tell you why these guys are a must see. They are just unreal musicans that NEVER seem to disappoint live. I have seen the boys 4 times over the last 3 years thanks to my 5 year old daugher being such a big fan and we have such a great time at the shows. A couple other honorable mentions would be Gone Country Festival in London, Ontario along with both Bluesfest in Ottawa and the FREE Burlington Sound of Music Festival both have pretty amazing line up’s this year. Would love to hear who you think I missed or who you have on your #MUSTSEE list. Happy Eargasims!
Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76
Also check out my #MUSTLISTEN every day over at @SoundCheckBlg.
