Friday was a great day for the ladies of country music at Boots & Hearts – but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have talented men on the stage!

One of my most anticipated acts of the festival from the Front Porch Stage was Sam Hunt – he of the QB pedigree and song writing prowess. The small town Georgia boy who moved to Nashville and started writing and performing hits.

Hunt’s stage presence is the first thing that hit me when we made our way to the stage after the rain. He was already in progress and had the fans (especially the ladies) hanging on his every word between songs. They screamed and waved their arms and clapped their hands and did anything that he asked. It’s a superpower that I hope Sam Hunt continues to use for good in his career.

Oh, and by the way, the music was tight too. Raised On It, Breakup In A Small Town, House Party, and Leave The Night On are already in the wheelhouse of country fans up here as evidenced by the singing and dancing. They also danced when he pulled out current hits We Are Tonight (Billy Currington) and Cop Car (Keith Urban) – and before we call them covers keep this in mind HE WROTE THEM! This dude is far too handsome to be this talented. Or the other way around. Whichever way you want to look at it.

Sam Hunt is going to be a superstar in country music. Book it. And check more pics at the bottom of the post!

After Sam Hunt was done on stage the Boots & Hearts fans were given a sweet surprise when it was announced that Paul Brandt would be coming up next to make up for his rained out set on the Main Stage. The crowd damn near exploded at the announcement – and for good reason.

For 20 years Paul Brandt has been making hits on country radio, and I’ve been a fan. So seeing him for the 2nd time at Boots & Hearts made me a happy guy. He started his set with Highway Patrol and had the crowd involved instantly with cheers and dancing in the wet grass, mud and puddles. And he kept that going when he slowed it down to sing Small Towns And Big Dreams and got the country fans to sing it back to him – which I love, always – and so does he.

Next was a huge favourite for me when Mr. Brandt, the most awarded Male Canadian Country Musician of all time, sang When You Call My Name followed by a mashup of My Heart Has A History and I Do. It was another sequence of me singing along without a single care in the world and just being a kid from the country listening to the radio (shout out Country 105 Peterborough) at home.

Note: During a break in Friday’s thunder and hail storm, Paul came into the media tent for a quick hello and some pictures and Trish snapped one of us. That was cool.

Note II: As Paul was playing I spotted Jenna Rae Walker from The Reklaws in the crowd and snuck over to say hi and we snapped a picture together. We couldn’t find Stuart, but maybe we’ll get that picture Saturday or Sunday.

Note III: Paul Brandt is nominated for the Fans Choice Award at this 2014 CCMAs and really, really wants to win. In fact, he promised to follow people back on the Twitter who voted for him and shared the link…

Hello faithful followers… Fun Fact… Did you know you can vote DAILY for the CCMA Fans’ Choice Award? Just sayin’ http://t.co/Xa2SLPXipW

— paulbrandt (@paulbrandt) July 28, 2014

Paul finished his set strong, as I expected he would, with his newest hit Forever Summer followed by 2 of his biggest hits Convoy and Alberta Bound to close out the show. But before the music stopped Paul got himself one more big round of cheers when he stepped to the side of the stage and pulled on a Boots & Hearts hockey jersey with Brandt and the number 14 on the back. This dude is Canadian to the core and I hope we keep getting new music from him for another 20 years.

To see photos of Sam Hunt, Paul Brandt and more, more, more – check out 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.