Boots and Hearts 2014 started with a bang on Thursday night, and Brett Kissel was a big reason why.

From the second Kissel stepped onto the SiriusXM Front Porch Stage to the second he finished his hour long set, the crowd was loud and engaged. With a mix of his own singles and covers like Thank God I’m A Country Boy, Callin’ Baton Rouge and We Will Rock You, he had hands clapping, feet dancing and people singing along to the music.

Hell, he even climbed a Coors Banquet tractor trailer and sang his party anthem, Raise Your Glass mixed with a little bit of Def Leppard’s classic Pour Some Sugar On Me.

Early in the afternoon we had a chance to sit down with Brett Kissel on the Gibson Guitars tour bus to ask a few questions about what he’s listening to, playing major festivals, and the Canadian Country Music Awards.

I asked Brett what his favourite part of playing big festivals like Boots & Hearts is and he told us that it starts with the crowd. Being able to have 35,000 country music fans in 1 place together is something that you don’t get every night. He used Toronto country bar (1 of my favourite spots in the city) Boots & Bourbon as an example saying it would take 35 shows in a place like that to get what you do at a big festival like this.

I also asked Brett the same question that I asked The Reklaws a few months ago, Who are the top 3 most played artists on your iTunes right now? But 3 wasn’t enough… so we ended up with a list of 5 artists that Brett Kissel (and his wife Cecilia) listen to most often.

Here’s his list:
◊ Rihanna
◊ Dallas Smith
◊ Dean Brody
◊ Brooks & Dunn
◊ George Strait

And because I grew up singing along to country music on the radio I asked Kissel who he grew up singing along to in Flat Lake, Alberta. He told us that in the last few years he’s keyed in on country legends like Brooks & Dunn and George Strait, boasting that he could probably pick up his guitar and play any of Strait’s 60 #1 hits. He added that he started singing along to classic country artists like Buck Owens and Johnny Cash, which will make all of the grand-parents and pure country fans happy with the 22 year old Canadian hit maker.

We asked Brett 2 questions about the CCMA’s coming up… neither of them were easy to answer, so we don’t blame him one bit for hedging.

1) Pick a winner in the Female Artist of the Year category.

He wouldn’t… when he finished telling us that Jess Moskaluke, Mackenzie Porter, and Kira Isabella all had a chance to win and wouldn’t be a considered an upset if they did he apologized for giving such a Miss America answer and told us that it was impossible to make a pick after becoming friends with all of the artists.

2) Which of his 8 nominations would he most like to win?

Again, too hard to choose. But he did mention that being named Male Artist of the Year would be a thrill, and that being recognized for the video to 3,2,1 would be great.

Note: There’s a strong chance that Brett Kissel leaves the Canadian Country Music Awards with more than 1 trophy this year and many other years before his career is over.

Brett Kissel owned the Boots & Hearts crowd on Thursday night and was fantastic in bringing to life songs like 3,2,1, Tough People Do, and Started With A Song, which he used to finish his set, thank the crowd and leave the stage as grateful, humble and awesome as he was when we met him on the bus just a few hours earlier.

Look for Brett Kissel to remain a name that you hear over and over again on country radio, CMT and award show nomination lists for a long, long time.

Work Hard. Play Harder. Be Awesome.

Check out more awesome pictures of Brett on the bus and on stage on Trish’s blog HERE.

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Joshua Murray

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.