By Yuri Woodfall – Western Lead, Sound Check Entertainment
Since 2012, Boots and Hearts has called Ontario home. This weekend, the country’s biggest country music festival finally pulled on its boots and headed west – and Edmonton made damn sure it knew it had arrived.
The inaugural Boots and Hearts West took over Fan Park @ ICE District, bringing country music into the heart of downtown Edmonton. There was always going to be one big question hanging over the festival’s first expansion outside Ontario: would Western Canada embrace it?
Edmonton answered that question emphatically.
The city turned out in force, filling Fan Park to the brim.
From the stage to the back of the grounds, the ICE District was a sea of cowboy hats, boots and country music fans. Whatever uncertainty may have existed about bringing Boots and Hearts west disappeared once you saw just how many people packed themselves into Fan Park.
This didn’t look or feel like a festival cautiously testing the waters in a new market. It felt like Edmonton had been waiting for it.
And really, bringing Boots and Hearts to Alberta makes almost too much sense. Country music doesn’t exactly need an introduction around here. Edmonton and the surrounding communities have consistently demonstrated an appetite for major country shows, festivals and homegrown Canadian talent, and Boots and Hearts West gave that audience something different – a major festival experience planted right in the middle of downtown.
Fan Park wasn’t simply busy.
It was packed.
Friday – Boots and Hearts West Gets Underway
Before the massive crowds, the headliners and Russell Mania, somebody had to get the music started.
That distinction belonged to Julia Vos, who took the Second Stage on Friday afternoon as the first performer of the inaugural Boots and Hearts West.
There’s something special about being the artist who gets an entirely new festival started, and Vos will forever hold a small piece of Boots and Hearts history as the first performer of its first western edition.
From there, the afternoon began alternating between the festival’s two stages, with Kalsey Kulyk taking over the Main Stage as Boots and Hearts West began settling into its rhythm.
Second Stage Keeps the Music Moving
While the Main Stage naturally housed the festival’s biggest names, the Second Stage was an important part of Boots and Hearts West. It kept the music flowing between the larger sets while giving another group of artists an opportunity to make an impression on the Edmonton crowd.
And one of those artists made a particularly big one.
Dawson Gray – One to Watch
Dawson Gray made a strong impression on the Second Stage and left Edmonton with a pretty clear message: this is an artist worth keeping an eye on.
Gray was constantly playing to the crowd, smiling and laughing with his bandmates and making the most of every minute he had onstage. There was a genuine chemistry between Gray and the musicians around him that made the performance feel natural, energetic and, most importantly, fun.
But underneath all of that fun was an artist showing exactly what he is capable of.
Gray carried himself with confidence, connected naturally with the audience and commanded the Second Stage like someone ready for considerably bigger stages in the future.
Dawson Gray is one to watch.
The Kelowna native came to Boots and Hearts West and showed Edmonton that he’s a force to be reckoned with. If he keeps this up, Dawson Gray might just be the guy who puts Kelowna on the map for something other than wineries.
Back on the Main Stage, Travis Denning kept Friday rolling as the festival continued building toward its evening performances.
By the time Tyler Joe Miller arrived, Boots and Hearts West was well and truly underway.
Tyler Joe Miller
Tyler Joe Miller was one of Friday’s standouts, delivering a fantastic set and looking like he was having every bit as much fun as the crowd in front of him.
Miller clearly loves playing to an audience, and that connection came through throughout his performance. He embraced the crowd, played off their energy and seemed genuinely thrilled to be part of the inaugural Boots and Hearts West.
He also threw a medley of covers into the mix, including Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” giving the country crowd a little pop-punk detour and another reason to sing along.
There was an easygoing enthusiasm to Miller’s stage presence that made the set especially enjoyable. Nothing felt forced – he was simply having a blast up there, and when an artist is visibly enjoying themselves that much, it’s hard for that energy not to spread.
The Edmonton crowd gave it right back to him.
By the end of his set, Miller had delivered another memorable performance on a Friday that seemed to keep gaining momentum with every artist.
Max McNown
One of Friday’s biggest reactions belonged to Max McNown, who wasted absolutely no time making his presence felt.
McNown exploded onto the stage with an infectious energy that carried throughout his set. He wasn’t content to simply stand behind a microphone and work through the songs – at one point, he jumped off the stage and ran out toward the eagerly awaiting fans, closing the distance between performer and crowd and sending those lucky enough to be nearby into a frenzy.
His recent festival sets have featured songs such as “Love Me Back,” “Turned Into Missing You,” “Marley,” “World Change Me,” “A Lot More Free” and “Better Me for You (Brown Eyes),” but it was McNown’s stage presence that really sold the performance in Edmonton.
With Fan Park already filling up ahead of the night’s headliner, McNown treated his time onstage like he had something to prove. Running out to meet the fans wasn’t some carefully distanced wave from the stage – he threw himself directly into the moment and fed off their excitement.
It was exactly the kind of performance a festival needs as the evening hits its stride: energetic enough to win over the people who didn’t know him and rewarding enough for the fans who clearly did.
And then it was time for Russell Mania.
Russell Mania (Russell Dickerson)
By the time Russell Dickerson took the stage to close out Friday night, Fan Park was filled to the brim – and the massive video screens soon provided the perfect name for what was unfolding:
RUSSELL MANIA.
The words flashed across the screens, and they couldn’t have described the scene much better.
Russell Mania was off the charts.
Dickerson’s live show came armed with the kind of catalogue perfectly suited to a massive festival crowd, with songs like “She Likes It,” “Bones,” “Love You Like I Used To,” “Blue Tacoma,” “Every Little Thing” and “Yours” giving the Edmonton audience plenty of opportunities to sing along.
But more than anything, Dickerson looked every bit like the headliner Boots and Hearts West needed to close its opening night.
There was no easing Edmonton into the festival’s first western edition. Fan Park was packed, the crowd was loud, and Dickerson commanded every bit of it.
The screens called it RUSSELL MANIA.
After watching Edmonton’s reaction, it was hard to argue with them.
Friday had answered the biggest question facing Boots and Hearts West before the weekend even reached its halfway point.
Edmonton showed up.
And there was still another full day to go.
