SHANIA TWAIN!!! As Boots & Hearts prepares for its return in full form next August at Burls Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte, ON, the one and only Shania Twain leads the weekend country music festivals headliners.
The Canadian Queen of Country Music will take the stage on Sunday night, with Florida Georgia Line headlining on Saturday, and Sam Hunt in the spotlight on Friday.
Along with the headliners, six supporting acts were announced with Lindsay Ell, Robyn Ottolini, Russell Dickerson, Meghan Patrick, Dustin Lynch, and MacKenzie Porter spread out over the Friday-Sunday lineup. Worth noting is that five of the nine announced performers are women, which is not something we see often, and we’ll keep an eye on as more artists are announced.
Fans may also notice that Hunt, Lynch, and Patrick are carryovers from the 2021 festival lineup announcement, while the remainder of the names are new for the comeback 2022 weekend.
Back to Shania though. For years we’ve been writing prediction posts before Boots & Hearts reveals their lineup. Not once has Shania Twain been one of those predictions. We’ve always tried to be realistic with the picks, and Shania never ever ever seemed like a realistic possibility. She’s Shania. She was in Vegas. She’s royalty. She was on a list with Garth, Reba and Taylor Swift as unimaginable. But, here we are. Here she is. There she’ll be.
And she’s still the one.
I’m excited to see the fans react to FGL like they always do. I’m excited to see Sam Hunt for the first time in years. I’m excited for Canadian women getting a chance to show out every night. But we all know what the headline is. We all know who the star is.
From the moment she steps on stage on Sunday, August 7 (before she does really) to the moment the fireworks go off at the end of her encore, Shania Twain will be the story and the memory in the making and the exclamation point on the returning festival.
We can’t wait.
Here’s the day-by-day breakdown of the 2022 Boots & Hearts artist announcements so far. Stay tuned for more announcements, previews, and info.
Tickets for Boots & Hearts 2022 go on sale Friday, November 26 – and you can visit bootsandhearts.com/tickets/ to get ’em.
Thursday, August 4, 2022 – Kick Off Party!
Friday, August 5, 2022
Sam Hunt
Dustin Lynch
MacKenzie Porter
Saturday, August 6, 2022
Florida Georgia Line
Russell Dickerson
Meghan Patrick
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Shania Twain
Lindsay Ell
Robyn Ottolini
Check out some photos of the announced artists that we’ve snapped over the years, and start getting ready for August 2022!
Nearly 25 years ago, Natalie Imbruglia released her debut single Torn and burst onto the music scene all over the world. The track, a cover of Danish band Brændt’s original release, remains a smash that we can’t help but sing along to when it comes on.
Late this week, Porter dropped an acapella clip on Instagram singing Torn and giving her puppy a little cuddle. The caption “Why is this song still sooo good… someone needs to cover it ASAP” seemed like a nice little tribute at the time.
In an Amazon Music exclusive, MacKenzie Porter dropped a cover of Torn – and she crushed it.
The Canadian country star doesn’t put too much twang on the song, leaving it near to what we’ve loved for more than two decades. But she does lend her strong, talented, #1 hit-singing voice to the lyrics, making it her own. If you love Natalie Imbruglia’s version, I think it’s safe to recommend MacKenzie Porter’s version to you.
Note: This is an Amazon Music exclusive. If you want to hear the song and don’t have access to Amazon music, we suggest signing up on a trial, or staying tuned for a potential wider release in the future!
Click the box now and hit play in your new tab to give it a spin!
It’s been a helluva ride over these last few years as she’s become a brighter star with three #1 singles at Canadian country radio (About You, These Days, Seeing Other People) and we fully expect things to continue on that same path as she moves forward.
We can’t wait to see MacKenzie up on stage with her fiddle, her band, and her music again soon.
Since you’re still here, and we all love Torn, hit play on Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 version now and enjoy. In the words of MacKenzie Porter, it’s still sooo good!
Just in time for the good weather and summer season kickoff in Canada, Tim Hicks has dropped a seven-song EP, designed for backyard sing-alongs and good nights. Campfire Troubadour takes Hicks back to the same kind of musical roots that so many of us have: sitting, singing with friends, listening to some crickets in the background, and having fun.
And it works.
For 25 minutes, across seven songs, Tim Hicks makes me want to get out of town, find a patch of grass with some trees on the edge and a fire pit in the middle. I want my friends there with me while we chat and listen to the words of the new songs and sing along with the ones we know.
And you know what, for me, that’s a win. And if this EP does that for you too, that’s a win for you too.
The Campfire Troubadour EP comes at us with new songs that fans of Hicks are going to come to love and learn (Slow, Horses and Hearts, Annaleigh, Last Can, After All These Beers) and tracks that are ready for you to sing along with right now. That mix makes it feel welcoming (along with the stripped-down arrangements and sound). It makes me feel like maybe I do already know these songs. And like I’ll be singing along in no time.
The ones I am ready to sing right away though – I’m going loud and hard and all-in on!
The Campfire Edition of The Good, the Bad, and the Pretty was a great inclusion by Tim Hicks here. Not only do we get another push on the radio single, but we also get a little different vibe and a reminder of the things that are fun about the track. And, we get to sing it like we’re at a fire with friends, on play number one of the EP.
And lastly, we get to talk about Don’t Look Back In Anger.
If you’re putting together a playlist of sing-along songs from the time that Tim Hicks was learning to play the guitar and sing songs with friends or alone, there’s a really strong chance that Oasis’s 1995 classic is going to on the list (even if you don’t know Tim Hicks). It’s a karaoke classic, a campfire staple, an everlasting and beloved hit.
And you can sing along as loud as you want. The choice could have been Wonderwall. And we would have sung along to that too – but Don’t Look Back In Anger was the right call in my humble opinion.
Now, hit play on any or all of the songs’ lyric videos here – or skip down to the stream below and hit play to listen to the EP in full.
Enjoy – and be ready to sing along.
Tim Hicks – Slow
Tim Hicks – Horses and Hearts
Tim Hicks – The Good, the Bad and the Pretty (Campfire Edition)
Tim Hicks – Annaleigh
Tim Hicks – Last Can
Tim Hicks – Don’t Look Back In Anger
Tim Hicks – After All These Beers
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Tim Hicks, Campfire Troubadour Tracklist
1. Slow 2. Horses and Hearts 3. The Good, The Bad and the Pretty (Campfire Edition) 4. Annaleigh 5. Last Can 6. Don’t Look Back In Anger 7. After All These Beers
This week, a new podcast launched from the music world, and with three episodes available on day one, it’s already pulled me in as one of my favourites. Nice Horse, the award-winning country band based in Alberta (with members calling B.C. and Ontario home as well), have started telling stories on The Road Case podcast.
As the flagship piece of the band’s new venture, Be Nice Nation, The Road Case is a storytelling podcast that starts with how the band first got together in Hawaii and moves forward from there. There are laughs and surprises (even to members of the band) and some f-bombs too. Earmuffs, kids.
After digging in and listening to Katie, Brandi, Krista, Tara, and their friend, colleague, and music industry veteran, Tera Lee Flaman laugh and joke and talk, I reached out to the group and had a chance to get on a call with Katie to talk about it.
Setting the scene, Katie told me, “Between all of us, have 15 years each of road experience that doesn’t even include our time together, it’s also time apart, so even we’re kind of hearing stories for the first time from each other. From tour fails to tour successes to just the most odd things that have happened on the road to us – and then also we’ll be having guests. And we’ve already got some really great guests lined up that we’re very excited to announce next week.”
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Note: Check out Be Nice Nation (mybenicenation.com) to learn more about this new Lifestyle Brand and Media Empire – including their line of t-shirts, the podcast, their upcoming blog, foundation, and more.
Earlier in the pandemic, Nice Horse started hosting streaming hangouts called Wine at 9, and caught up with each other and told stories and generally just had a good time with themselves and fans. What they noticed were comments telling them that this was podcast content, and there was something here to dive deeper into. And the rest, as they say, is history.
With COVID-19 still a very real presence in our lives, I asked Katie how the recording process has gone for The Road Case so far. She said, “It’s been a little bit of everything. We were able to get some together and then, of course, the restrictions happened again and so we’ve been separated again and so we’ve just been recording them at home.” She added that they’re trying not to get too far ahead of themselves on recording so things stay fresh and in real-time – and they’re still busy as a band so that work has to be done too.
From episode one, you can tell that this really is a group of five people that enjoy hanging out and talking and swapping stories and making jokes at each other’s expense. The chemistry and familiarity and comfort is visible (audible? you know what I mean). It’s the same attitude and vibe we’ve had when sitting down with the band for interviews, except now you all can hear it, and it’s not just us in a small space, sharing the highlights when it’s over.
As we talked about the podcast and the decision to make it happen, one example stood out that helps explain all of it. Katie said, “The number one question I’ll get asked by people who aren’t musicians is ‘have you got a great tour story? Like, whats a cool backstage moment that happened?’ And when people ask you that on the spot, you’re like ‘Nothing, we drive for hours at a time and then get on stage and play and then go to bed.’ But then you get talking and you’re like ‘oh right, I’ve got a ton of these stories.’… and we kind of put all of that into The Road Case.” It sounds simple, but it’s the truth, and I’m here for it.
The saga starts with the story of Nice Horse coming together (with some really fun details and behind-the-scenes surprises) to start the band, their individual history as musicians, and moves into Tara joining the band and Tera Lee also joining the circle as we get into episode two. And it’s clear that there are going to be a lot of fun stories, as these women and their guests (I’m looking forward to the announcement and names) keep recording and sharing.
If you know Nice Horse’s music and like it, if you’ve seen them live and know their energy, or if you’ve ever met them or watched them in interviews, you’re going to want to hit play and check out The Road Case. Test drive the first three episodes and come back for more when they’re ready.
And even if you don’t know the band but you like podcasts that offer stories and an opportunity to feel like you’re sitting in on a conversation with friends as you go about your day, I recommend checking it out.
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Carly Pearce‘s third major-label album, 29, is here – and you’d better be ready because it’s coming in hot.
A year after her 2020 self-titled album, and three and a half years since her debut album (Every Little Thing), the Kentucky native offers seven songs across 22 minutes and gets her feelings all out on the table.
If you didn’t know, Pearce went through a divorce in 2020, which gives context to the nature of things (though she has been clear to point out that all of the songs and stories are not about her ex). And if you did know, here are the songs you’ve been waiting to hear based on every (little) thing you’ve heard from the album so far. BUT, she’s not necessarily dwelling on it when she talks about the music.
In a social media post leading up to the release of the album, Pearce said in a caption that 29 is “when you’re supposed to find yourself”and in an interview, she posted to her own YouTube channel, she says, “To me, 29 is a pivotal year for everybody. I think that you are old enough, but you’re still excited about life and you still have wonder, and I think that you feel and admit things if you get hurt. And what’s so beautiful about that place in life I think is that you get stronger and you get better and you get more yourself through it all.”
The way she speaks makes it clear that she thought a lot about life in her 29th year, and now she’s sharing all of that in her music.
All of that brings us to the title track. Hit play to listen to it now.
Carly Pearce – 29
And if Carly Pearce doesn’t break your heart a little bit talking about the hurt her heart went through on 29… I don’t know what to tell you.
This the real, raw, vulnerable part of country music that she does well to go along with the sassy that she also crushes! It’s two sides of the same coin: The sad and the sass. And we’re here for it now the same way we were when we first introduced to her in 2017.
Leading up to the album release, we heard and read Carly’s words talking about the 90s feel this album has. So if you grew up on Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Loveless and The Chicks, you’re going to find those little influences shining through on Carly’s songs. It’s a change from where she was at with her first two albums, but she calls it a return to her roots and the music she loved when she first got to Nashville.
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Almost half her life ago, Carly Pearce started performing at Dollywood. We asked her in 2017 what 16-year-old Carly would think about the success she’s tasting now, and she laughed telling us that she was pretty confident back then and sure it was going to happen. And now, at 30, she has made it. She’s released three albums. She’s gone through the good and the bad and the in-between in life. She’s got two #1 singles (Every Little Thing, I Hope You’re Happy Now), two Platinum plaques, and a CMA Award.
29 has a lot of feelings. It has stories and warnings and strong writing and honesty and more. And in a genre where we expect artists to bare their souls for us on a regular basis, Carly Pearce does.
Carly Pearce – Day One
The thing about life is, there’s always something else coming next. Good or bad, it’s coming. And the thing about country music is, the stories from either of those situations end up making for great songs. This chapter from Carly Pearce is a spotlight on the hard times. But maybe, just maybe (and hopefully), the next one will be more sassy and happy than sassy and sad.
With seven songs, 29 isn’t a long album. It’s the shortest of her three releases so far. It gets the job done though. And it doesn’t leave us wishing for more as much as it has us ready to listen again.
If you’re a fan, and you like what you’ve heard from 29 already, mark February 24, 2021, on your calendar. At 6:01 PM CT, Carly Pearce will perform a stripped-down concert performance with a live Q&A included. The show will be available for 29 hours only, so don’t miss it – subscribe to her YouTube channel now to be prepared.
Now, check out the full tracklist for Carly Pearce’s 29 and hit play on the album to listen. Enjoy!
Carly Pearce, 29 Tracklist
1. Next Girl 2. Should’ve Known Better 3. 29 4. Liability 5. Messy 6. Show Me Around 7. Day One
Morgan Wallen is one of the hottest names in country music. His star continues to rise. His name has been (for better and worse) on the tip of a lot of tongues. And with the release of Dangerous: The Double Album, the Tennessee native has taken the next ambitious step in his budding career.
Ambitious is a versatile word when describing artistic endeavours, and it’s versatile within the context of Dangerous itself. The double album, 30-song offering (with bonus content available via select exclusive retail partners) is a big swing – one that isn’t the norm for a lot of reasons. It’s hard to get that many songs together that you can get recorded and be happy with. It’s hard to find that many songs that fit the same project in the same time. It’s expensive to record a lot of songs. But for Morgan, it feels like that swing has made solid contact.
Aside from the length, the content is ambitious as well. It would have been easy for Morgan Wallen to look for 11 songs that tried to capture the kind of lightning in a bottle that Whiskey Glasses did. He didn’t do that. And that’s a good thing.
What listeners get on Dangerous: The Double Album is 1 hour and 37 minutes of country music that they should want to dig into if they’ve enjoyed anything Wallen has offered them to this point. And if you are a fan already of his recent #1 singles, More Than My Hometown (US Country Airplay) and 7 Summers (US Country) then hell yes you’ll want to jump right into this entire double album.
Note: On Tuesday, January 12, 2021 – Wallen will perform in a global livestream event from, live from The Ryman Auditorium at 9 pm EST. The event is free and will be available on his YouTube and Facebook pages. See the poster at the bottom of this post.
What captured my attention with this album (both of them) is the emotional depth and availability so many of these songs offer up. These aren’t just feel good party time drinking songs. These are break up songs and sad songs and love songs and leaving songs. And it’s a country album that knows it’s a country album so there are beer and whiskey and dirt road and truck references too. Morgan Wallen isn’t hiding his roots or his personal perspective. It’s all right there.
And you know what, he sings really well on this album too.
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I’m a fan of a slowed-down song that is either meant to break my heart or fill it with secondhand joy. And when Morgan Wallen sings about his sunburnt Silverado on Sand in My Boots and then about selling that same Chevy truck on Silverado for Sale, he’s got me. And I’m a sucker for the regret and desperation, etc. on 865. It feels like someone lived that one. Kudos to the writers, Blake Pendergrass and John Byron.
I’m also in on the collaborations. With 30 songs to share, there was certainly room to bring in some complementary voices. And with Ben Burgess and Chris Stapleton – he chose well. Both Outlaw and Only Thing That’s Gone are good listens, and being able to team up with respected names and voices is always a good sign from an industry side, a personal point for the artist, and for fans who get to enjoy the results. And, while we’re talking about collaborative artists – though he isn’t on the song vocally, it’s impossible to miss Jason Isbell as the songwriter and original singer of the very good Cover Me Up.
To my ears, there’s not a stand out ‘Whiskey Glasses moment’ in Dangerous: The Double Album. I don’t hear any of these songs and imagine the singalong and ovation that I saw at Boots & Hearts in 2019. But, I do think that Country A$$ Shit is going to get some people revved up and singing along with their drinks up in the air. And, at the end of the day, he’ll always still have Whiskey Glasses to put in the set if he wants to get that big pop from the crowd.
In a press release sent out on Friday morning with the album drop, Wallen is quoted, “Started writing for this album two and a half years ago and had no idea what those two and a half years were going to bring. I tried to put all of those emotions from that time into one album but couldn’t — so we decided to make two. I hope you listen and it brings you some escape, some joy, some peace. That’s what I’ve found in it. Thanks for all of the support and I can’t wait to play these for y’all live one day.”
We’ll see some of the songs live on Tuesday night from The Ryman, and when it’s safe and we’re able to see Morgan Wallen up on stage in-person again, we’ll be ready for them then too.
For now, Dangerous: The Double Album is unmistakably a new chapter for Morgan Wallen and one that he may pull more #1s from, will certainly have additional radio singles, and if he’s lucky, will find the kind of connection with fans that every singer and songwriter is hoping to find.
By the time the double album ends with Quittin’ Time (another emotional downer, with Eric Church, Josh Thompson, and Luke Laird as writers), listeners will have spent as much time with Morgan Wallen’s voice as they do with some movies. It’s an album that fans will be able to put on in the background without worrying about needing to start over or choose something else 20 minutes later. And that’s just one more thing to give him credit for.
Check the complete 30-song tracklist here and hit play on Dangerous: The Double Album now!
Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (Album 1) Tracklist
1. Sand in My Boots 2. Wasted on You 3. Somebody’s Problem 4. More Surprised Than Me 5. 865 6. Warning 7. Neon Eyes 8. Outlaw (ft. Ben Burgess) 9. Whiskey’d My Way 10. Wonderin’ Bout the Wind 11. Your Bartender 12. Only Thing That’s Gone (ft. Chris Stapleton) 13. Cover Me Up 14. 7 Summers 15. More Than My Hometown
Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (Album 2) Tracklist
1. Still Goin Down 2. Rednecks, Red Letters, Red Dirt 3. Dangerous 4. Beer Don’t 5. Blame It On Me 6. Somethin’ Country 7. This Bar 8. Country A$$ Shit 9. Whatcha Think of Country Now 10. Me on Whiskey 11. Need a Boat 12. Silverado for Sale 13. Heartless (Wallen Album Mix) 14. Livin’ the Dream 15. Quittin’ Time
Just under two years ago, I was on the phone with MacKenzie Porter talking about the release of her first new music since 2014. This week, I was on the phone with her moments after she received a Platinum plaque, she’s still celebrating her third consecutive #1 single at Canadian country radio, and it was release day for her new song The One and Drinkin’ Songs: The Collection.
In a post on social media, MacKenzie was right on that path when she said, “The last two years have been a while ride since I released About You to the world. I can’t express to you guys who incredibly grateful I am for you sticking by me and helping me celebrate all of the successes (big and small)!” she added “Thank you for this amazing chapter, and I can’t wait to see you, play for you (and hug you!) in person soon!!” – CLICK HERE to see the full post.
Having had a chance to speak with the Canadian country singer, songwriter, actress, etc., it’s unsurprising to see her give such thanks and be so gracious. She’s good people. And she keeps making good music as we watch her work this second chapter in her music career, and now prepare for the third.
And if The One is the last page in this chapter, she’s going out with a good one. Listen now.
MacKenzie Porter – The One
Two years ago when we asked MacKenzie what the biggest thing that had happened in her life in the five years that had passed since our last interview. She told us that it was her move to Nashville that really stood out at the biggest thing in her life and career.
This time, I asked if there had been a moment in the last two years when it really hit that they made the right decision to come back and focus on music after a successful run acting (Hell On Wheels, Travelers). Admittedly, that’s not an easy question to spring on an artist with no warning – there are tons of behind-the-scenes moments that I’m sure were central to her moving forward, knowing she was on the right path and keeping the faith. But to her credit, she did come up with an answer: “There’s been a lot of reassuring moments but I would probably say my first #1 where you don’t know what’s gonna happen and you don’t even know if the songs gonna chart and then to have it go #1, I think that was just a reassuring thing, being like I’m definitely on my right path.”
Because of this hell year, we also asked about working through the pandemic and the cliched question about working on the next project while getting ready to release this one. MacKenzie assured us that the next album is coming, with a goal of next year. She’s been writing and preparing and the team is ready to work towards that release. She also told us that she’s hopeful that they’ll get back on the road, and if there’s a chance, she’d love to book dates as a headliner – and we’d like to see that happen.
MacKenzie Porter – Drinkin’ Songs
While we were on the phone, the CCMAs and MacKenzie’s rooftop performance came up too. MacKenzie said, “That was my first solo performance on the CCMAs and it was in Nashville and it was on the rooftop. You know, obviously, it would have been more fun to be playing in front of fans, but we still had a really good performance and a really good show and that was really cool.”
Click Here to watch the These Days CCMA performance from the Westin in Nashville, TN.
We’ve also got to give some love to MacKenzie for crossing over with These Days. I asked about it, and we talked about the crossover hits of Shania and co. in the 90s, and MacKenzie said, “I always think like pop radio is popular music and country is popular now, and so I think it just makes sense for it to crossover some times.” She added, when we started talking about These Days specifically, “For us to do it, it actually was not an intentional thing, it just kind of happened and pop radio started playing it. And after, you know, ten stations jump on and you’re like ‘well should we look at this and do a remix and make this a thing?’ And that’s kind of what we ended up doing and it worked – surprisingly. I didn’t know it was going to, but it did.”
The results have been significant, with These Days reaching the Top 10 on the Canadian Hot AC chart and #11 on the CHR/Top 40 chart in Canada as well. It’s the first time since Shania Twain that a Canadian country artist has charted in the pop world, and the highest pop debut for a Canadian country artist since Man I Feel Like A Woman! in 1999. Not bad at all!
MacKenzie Porter – These Days
Here’s a long story made short: MacKenzie Porter came back to music from acting, went to #1 on the Canadian country music charts three times in a row, went Platinum, crossed over to pop, toured with Dallas Smith and Dean Brody, played the CCMAs, and put herself right in the middle of a talented, emerging scene of Canadian women making great country music.
Lost in that sometimes is her earlier music, but here I am to remind you to go back and listen to Never Gonna Let You, Rodeo, If You Asked Me To and more. If you’re a new fan and don’t know those ones, you’re not going to regret going back to give them a go.
Just like MacKenzie, we’re looking forward to 2021 and beyond. We can’t wait to hear the new album, see her up on stage (as a headliner or at a festival or anywhere), and if there are more projects or surprises that come, we’ll be ready for that too.
While we had MacKenzie on Zoom we took the chance to play a round of 5 Quick Questions. But there was a catch. At the end of November 2018, we played a round on the phone and captured the answers in our post about her return to music. This time I asked the same 5 questions to see if her answers would stay the same, or if there were new dreams and wish list items for her.
Hit play to find out which album she’s grabbing for a front-to-back listen, who she’d love to duet with, who she thinks we should be listening to and more. And then watch as we go over her answers from 2018 with some great surprise reactions from MacKenzie.
5 Quick Questions with MacKenzie Porter
Hit play on the stream for Drinkin’ Songs: The Collection, listen to the #1 singles About You, These Days, and Seeing Other People, her new drop, The One, and more.
Enjoy!
MacKenzie Porter, Drinkin’ Songs: The Collection Tracklist
1. These Days 2. Drinkin’ Songs 3. About You 4. The One 5. Drive Thru 6. Seeing Other People 7. These Days (Remix)
It may have been a bit of a gloomy day, but that wasn’t enough to stop Ontario’s country music community from taking over London’s Western Fair District, celebrating both artists and industry leaders at this year’s very different CMAOntario Awards.
Billed as the first awards show of its kind in the world, the Country Music Association of Ontario held its festivities as a drive-in event deep in the heart of the Forest City — with rows upon rows of vehicles in attendance, using their horns and headlights to support their favourite faces on Oct. 4.
While the socially distanced red carpet took place backstage, a smaller (but still mighty) line-up of stars graced the stage, including performances by some of the province’s best, including The Reklaws, Tim Hicks, and Kelsi Mayne, as well as James Barker and Taylor Abram of the James Barker Band.
The show was once again hosted by Jason McCoy, who kept the show moving with his usual brand of charisma, talent, and occasional dad joke — while the Western Swing Authority rocked the night away as the house band.
The night’s big winner was the always incredible Meghan Patrick, who took home a trio of awards including Album of the Year (for Wild As Me), as well as Female Artist of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year — both honours she’s taken home consistently since 2018.
Not far behind in the numbers, James Barker Band snagged two awards, for Single and Music Video of the Year (both for Keep It Simple). St. Catharines’ own Tim Hicks scored a pair of trophies for Male Artist of the Year alongside the Nielsen Compass Award for sales and downloads, while Cambridge kids The Reklaws took home Group or Duo of the Year, as well as the coveted Fans’ Choice Award.
It was the second year for the Francophone Artist or Group of the Year category, with Les Rats d’Swompe taking top spot for 2020.
One of the biggest moments of the night came as hometown hero Aaron Allen received the association’s nod for Rising Star — a huge honour which was not lost on the artist, who was clearly both excited and emotional as he stepped into the spotlight, touching acceptance speech in-hand.
One of Allen’s biggest thank yous went out to his producer and mentor Jeff Dalziel, known for working with The Washboard Union, Nice Horse and the night’s Roots Artist or Group of the Year winners The Abrams, once again won Producer of the Year.
Photos from the 2020 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards Show!
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The Country Music Association of Ontario gave away their annual awards on Sunday night in London with the first ever drive-in awards show.
Hosted by Jason McCoy and with performances from Tim Hicks, The Reklaws, Kelsi Mayne, The Abrams, Les Rats D’Swompe, Nicole Rayy and more, the CMAO Awards show honoured winners across 17 categories. The night’s biggest winner was Meghan Patrick who won for Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter(s) of the Year, and Album of the Year for Wild As Me. She wasn’t alone as a multi-award winner though as James Barker Band, Tim Hicks, and The Reklaws all took home two awards each.
This may not have been the show that was planned at the beginning of the year, but the artists, crew, and Country Music Association of Ontario should all be commended for pulling it off and celebrating country music in Ontario.
Check out all of the winners for the 2020 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards now!
Winners in bold and gold!
2020 CMAO Award Categories and Winners!
Fans’ Choice sponsored by Ontario Creates
★ The Reklaws
★ Jade Eagleson
★ James Barker Band
★ Meghan Patrick
★ Tebey
★ Tim Hicks
Album of the Year
★ Wild As Me – Meghan Patrick
★ Big Deal – The Western Swing Authority
★ Cain – Andrew Hyatt
★ Freshman Year – The Reklaws
★ Singles Only – James Barker Band
Single of the Year sponsored by Pure Country 106
★ Keep it Simple – James Barker Band
★ If You Met Me First – Eric Ethridge
★ Old Country Soul – The Reklaws
★ What A Song Should Do – Tim Hicks
★ Wild As Me – Meghan Patrick
Female Artist of the Year sponsored by Spring Tree Farm
★ Tim Hicks
★ Aaron Allen
★ Andrew Hyatt
★ Eric Ethridge
★ Jade Eagleson
★ Jim Cuddy
Group or Duo of the Year sponsored by Country 103
★ The Reklaws
★ James Barker Band
★ Jess and Tay
★ The Abrams
★ The Western Swing Authority
Roots Artist or Group of the Year sponsored by Skelton Truck Lines
★ The Abrams
★ Jessica Mitchell
★ Kelly Prescott
★ The Redhill Valleys
★ The Western Swing Authority
Francophone Artist or Group of the Year sponsored by Desjardins
★ Les Rats D’Swompe
★ Edouard Landry
★ Kristine St-Pierre
★ Reney Ray
★ Stef Paquette
Rising Star Award sponsored by Slaight Music
★ Aaron Allen
★ Alli Walker
★ David Boyd Janes
★ Dustin Bird
★ Kelsi Mayne
Music Video of the Year sponsored by MNP
★ Keep It Simple – James Barker Band
★ Feels Like That – The Reklaws
★ If You Met Me First – Eric Ethridge
★ The Good Ones – Tebey & Marie Mai
★ ToGetHer – Leah Daniels
★ Wild as Me – Meghan Patrick
Record Producer(s) of the Year sponsored by Metalworks Recording Studios
★ Jeff Dalziel– Aaron Allen, The Abrams, Dan Davidson, Chris Labelle, Ryan Langdon
★ J.R. Hutt – Giselle Sanderson, Jamie Warren, Rebekah Stevens, Sean Hogan, Tianna Woods
★ Jason Barry – Amanda Jordan, Charlie Major, Josh David, Western Swing Authority, Billy Ray Cyrus
★ Mark Schroor & Erik Fintelman – David Boyd Janes, Robyn Ottolini, Emily Clair
★ Tebey Ottoh & Danick Dupelle – Tebey & Marie Mai
Industry Person of the Year sponsored by Calcul8
★ Shannon Ella, Pure Country/Complete Country
★ Dave Woods, In the Country
★ Johnathan Smalley, Rock N Horse
★ KT Timmermans, Country 103/Manitoulin Country Fest
★ Ron Kitchener, RGK Entertainment
Radio Station of the Year (Large Market)
★ CKBY Country 101.1, Ottawa
★ CHKX KX 947, Hamilton
★ CJBX Pure Country 93, London
★ CJKX KX96, Oshawa
★ CKDK NEW Country 104, Woodstock
Radio Station of the Year (Medium Market) sponsored by Lucknow’s Music in the Fields
★ CHCQ-FM Cool 100.1 FM, Belleville
★ CFCO Country 92.9, Chatham
★ CICS Pure Country 91.7, Sudbury
★ CJQM-FM Country 104.3, Sault Ste Marie
★ CKXC Country 93.5, Kingston
Radio Station of the Year (Small Market)
★ CICX Pure Country 106, Orillia
★ CHAW Country 103, Little Current
★ CJDL-FM Country 107.3, Tillsonburg
★ CKYC Country 93, Owen Sound
★ CKYY Country 89, Welland
[easy-social-share counters=0 style="icon" url="https://thereviewsarein.com/2020/10/05/2020-country-music-association-of-ontario-awards-winners/" text="2020 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards Winners!
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On Sunday night during the Canadian Country Music Association Awards, Boots & Hearts announced that Sam Hunt would be coming to Burl’s Creek in 2021 as a headliner at the country music festival. And then, on Monday morning, the complete 2021 lineup was released on the BH website.
As expected, many of the artists that were scheduled to appear at the 2020 festival are on the 2021 lineup, but there are some changes with 10 new names on the poster including Hunt. Other new names include The Cadillac Three, Tebey, HARDY, Chris Lane, Raelynn, Jon Langston, Ashland Craft, Sean Stemaly, and Travis Denning.
However, with new names added, some names had to come off. Granger Smith (and Earl Dibbles Jr.), Alessia Cara, Andy Grammer, Riley Green, Jessie James Decker, Adam Doleac, King Calaway, Seaforth, Caylee Hammack, and Dwayne Gretzky are all absent from the 2021 lineup, making the in/out even at 10.
Whether you like the names added more than the names removed is a point of personal preference, but I can tell you that I’m already looking forward to seeing Sam Hunt, HARDY, TC3, Tebey, and Raelynn up on a Boots & Hearts stage. So those are all wins for me.
Now, scroll down to see the full day-to-day Boots & Hearts 2021 lineup, some photos of the performers that we’ve captured over the years, and stay tuned for more news, previews, and interviews as we all hope for the safe and happy return of the Boots and Hearts Music Festival!
The 2021 Complete Day-to-Day Boots & Hearts Lineup
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Headliner: Jon Pardi
Lineup: Raelynn, Tebey, Emerging Artist Showcase
Friday, August 6, 2021
Headliner: Dan + Shay
Lineup: Chris Lane, Cam, Morgan Evans, Jon Langston, Jillian Jacqueline, Sean Stemaly, David Boyd Janes, Kristin Carter, Jess & Tay
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Headliner: Sam Hunt
Lineup: Dustin Lynch, HARDY, Travis Denning, Aaron Goodvin, Jojo Mason, Niko Moon, Ashland Craft, Madison Kozak, Sykamore
Sunday, August 8, 2021
Headliner: Eric Church
Lineup: Brothers Osborne, The Cadillac Three, Meghan Patrick, Jason Blaine, Abby Anderson, Steven Lee Olsen, Teddy Robb, Hailey Whitters, Kalsey Kulyk
A lot can happen in a few short months, even when the world feels like it’s crawled to a standstill. And that couldn’t be more true for Nice Horse.
Since we last had the chance to chat with the four-woman country band back in January, the pandemic hit, shows were cancelled, and festival season was scrapped – but there have also been two music video releases, the band’s first Top 40 single, and a Canadian Country Music Association nomination for Interactive Artist of the Year.
Recently, I had the chance to get on the Zoom with Krista to talk about the last few months and the upcoming CCMAs, and what we were able to hash out is that it’s hard to say that anything can make up for the downs that artists, fans, and the industry are going through this year, but at least Nice Horse has had some things to smile about.
When we last caught up with Nice Horse in Toronto, they had just filmed the music video for Hot Mess, and in hindsight, we wish we had asked a lot more questions about it because it is a romp.
Filmed mostly at The Darling Mansion in Toronto, with a superb guest-starring role from Toronto Drag Queen, Jezebel Bardot and special appearances by RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 3 winner, Trixie Mattel, the Hot Mess video is a ton of fun, offers amazing visuals in a perfect filming location, and packs as much Drag fun as possible into a country music video. Oh, and the song is a banger too!
When we spoke to the band in January, Krista told us that she had taken on a lot of the last-minute Producer duties because indie bands have limited budgets – but as an added bonus, as a group of Type A individuals, having their hands on the control switch is also a comfortable position to be in.
Nice Horse – Hot Mess
Note: I also want to take a quick second to give some much-deserved props to Nice Horse for making this video and using Jezebel Bardot and Trixie Mattel as performers and personalities. This isn’t the norm for country music and it was awesome to see that kind of inclusion in the genre. Well done ladies.
Hot Mess isn’t the only music video released by Nice Horse during the pandemic though. More recently, the band dropped the official music video for their newest single, Cowgirl, and it’s a doozy, too!
The animated clip features all four band members joining forces to fight a giant robot – and if Drag Queens were high on the list of unique features in a country music video, this has to be on there too.
Krista said that once the decision was made to go animated, the band had an opportunity to do things that they would never be able to do in real life. From there, the decision to make themselves superheroes was easy. And fighting a giant robot, why not?! Nice Horse teamed up with Tivoli Films for the video, and while they didn’t have a hand in creating the visuals, they were by no means hands-off.
Krista told me that they went back and forth with the animation team on sketches and details like faces and clothing to make things accurate and cool. She said that the band also took care of writing all of the comic book style captions in the video, putting another stamp of ownership on the creative process.
In the end, Cowgirl is another empowering anthem from Nice Horse, bringing women together, whether they were “raised on Reba, Aretha or Patsy Cline. Shania or Alanis, rocked like Janis. Whatever makes you feel alive.” – and we love it.
Nice Horse – Cowgirl
Cowgirl has also officially become Nice Horse’s first Top 40 single at Canadian country radio. It’s a significant accomplishment for the band, even if the timing is a little… weird.
Krista told me that she hasn’t reaped the full experiential reward for the Top 40 status, because she hasn’t been out in her car as much listening to country radio. She said that it took a couple of weeks for things to really sink in that they had reached their place on the charts, and while the four members of the band haven’t all been together to celebrate, they have had the chance to connect for some online celebrations together.
As much as there has been to celebrate though, it hasn’t all been strawberries and champagne.
Krista admitted that there were thoughts that, you know, maybe this is the end of the line. There was and is so much uncertainty in the music industry right now that it’s hard for a band that fights for every piece of anything they get to hold on. But, with the Top 40, their well-deserved CCMA nomination, and more music and content on the way, they’re not ready to hang it up yet.
Nice Horse has taken to the internet to write together, and record with award-winning producer Jeff Dalziel. It’s not the same as being in the same room, it’s not ideal, but it’s also not stopping these women from putting in the work so they can take the next step, whenever it’s time to do that.
While we were on our call we did take a few minutes to talk about the band’s CCMA nomination for Interactive Artist of the Year. Nice Horse puts a lot of work into creating great content (outside of their songs and official videos) to share with fans and entertain folks. They take pride in that work, and to see them recognized for it is fantastic.
When we were talking about what’s coming next and what fans might expect, Krista said that the best thing to do is keep an eye on their social feeds. She also encouraged everyone to comment, send messages, get in tough however with their questions or requests or comments. They love to see it. They truly love to be part of the Canadian country music community. And social media allows them to really showcase how great they are with those tools in this time when it’s kind of all we’ve got.
Near the end of. our call, I asked Krista is the band has anything special planned for the CCMAs, or if there was anything new on the way soon – and she smiled and gave me the kind of yes that means, “I can’t tell you, stay tuned”. I’ve heard it before, and I’ll hear it again, and I love it because it means there is something coming, and sometimes it’s nice to sit back and wait for the surprise.
Before we go, in case you missed it, hit play on our round of 5 Quick Questions from earlier this year, recorded in the back room at Steve’s Music Store on Queen St. W in Toronto.
Live music made its way back to Ontario in a big way this past weekend, as the first-ever HarmoniaFest took over the Italian Cultural Centre of Milton’s grounds Saturday night.
The brainchild of 2020 Country Music Association of Ontario Female Artist of the Year nominee Nicole Rayy, it was an evening showcasing some of the best female artists the province has to offer, with Suzi Kory, Mackenzie Leigh Meyer, Bree Taylor, Alessia Cohle and Leah Daniels rounding out the bill.
And for anyone still doubting the power of women in country music, rest assured this crew rocked the stage from start till finish — and fans couldn’t get enough.
Suzi Kory and Mackenzie Leigh Meyer kicked off the show and treated to the crowd to some acoustic sounds, with Bree Taylor not far behind.
As the sun went down, a few storm clouds made an appearance, but that wasn’t enough to stop Alessia Cohle from cranking up the volume.
After starting things off with How Bad, Two Steps Ahead and Talk to Me, the songstress paid homage to some diverse inherited musical taste (thanks to her father) with a foot-stomping cover of Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man.
Alessia has continued to put her own stamp on country music, releasing her latest offering Tell You just last year — a song she penned with acclaimed artist Jason Blaine. It was that same track that helped round out her set, followed by Carrie Underwood’s Smoke Break.
Alessia Cohle, HarmoniaFest 2020 Setlist
★ How Bad ★ Two Steps Ahead ★ Talk to Me ★ Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield) ★ Wanderlust ★ Love Gone Right ★ All Good ★ The Middle (Maren Morris) ★ Tell You ★ Smoke Break (Carrie Underwood)
Next up was Nicole Rayy, and while the skies may have cleared up some, she brought the thunder — first with a pair of her own tracks, Let’s Fall in Love, and Bad Habit, before breaking into Kasey Musgraves’ Blowing Smoke alongside the Aerosmith classic Sweet Emotion.
The night’s entire line-up joined Rayy onstage for All Women (with the exception of Daniels, who was otherwise engaged — don’t ask), a moment the singer/songwriter said she had worked towards since the song’s inception.
From there the tracks came fast and hard, warranting a chorus of honks and headlight blinks from the car-bound crowd.
Rayy’s current release, Broken Boys, fell just shy of the end of the set, followed up with Put the Gun Down, and Don’t.
Nicole Rayy, HarmoniaFest 2020 Setlist
★ Let’s Fall in Love ★ Bad Habit ★ Blowing Smoke (Kasey Musgraves) ★ Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith) ★ All Women ★ Unfinished ★ Bow and Arrow ★ Uh Huh (Jade Bird) ★ Fireproof ★ Broken Boys ★ Put the Gun Down ★ Don’t
Lastly, Leah Daniels kicked things off in her set with her 2018 EP title track, The Story, before taking fans on a trademark high-energy ride to close out the night.
The most well-known name of the night’s lineup, Daniels continues to show everyone who sees her why she’s a fan favourite and how well she fits into a lineup like HarmoniaFest put together in 2020.
From Whitney Houston’s I Want to Dance with Somebody to Alanis Morrisette’s You Oughta Know, to a 90s medley packed with throwback hits, Daniels is an entertainer through and through. Add in her own releases like Together, First, and her Top 20 single, Go Back, and she put together a great set to wrap up a wonderful night of women in country music.
Leah Daniels, HarmoniaFest 2020 Setlist
★ The Story ★ Tell Me Right Now ★ I Want to Dance with Somebody (Whitney Houston) ★ Together ★ Go Back ★ You Outta Know (Alanis Morrisette) ★ My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby (Wilf Carter) ★ Nothing ★ 90s Medley; Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind), Fly (Sugar Ray), I Love You Always Forever (Donna Lewis) ★ First ★ Whiskey’s Gone (Zac Brown Band)
[easy-social-share counters=0 style="icon" url="https://thereviewsarein.com/2020/08/31/country-music-women-shine-at-harmoniafest-2020/" text="Country Music Women Shine at HarmoniaFest 2020
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Kip Moore is back with his fourth full-length album, Wild World with 13 songs ready for country music fans.
The rock-edged country artist from Tifton, Georgia goes to what he does well and what his fans love on this record, starting with Janie Blu and moving all the way through to Payin’ Hard. Heck, these songs are instantly ready to join your Kip Moore favourites on your playlists for whatever occasion you love them for.
The wait for Wild World might have felt long as fans started getting excited a year ago when he tweeted that the record was done. Now, we know that it takes a while for all of the pieces to come together after the last lines are recorded, but boy howdy, it made the excitement and anticipation for these songs vert real.
And it all started with the released of She’s Mine (which climbed to #28 on the US Country Air Play Chart).
On the album, Moore walks the line back and forth between the fist-pumping country-rock energy that he carries with power and the gentle grace of singer-songwriter chops with country storytelling packed with feelings for the world to see. It’s that kind of balance that’s going to make the tracks like Red White Blue Jean American Dream, Wild World, Hey Old Lover, and Crazy For You Tonight great additions to his live show, fitting in and keeping things fresh and moving.
Note: I’ve gotta give a tip of my hat to Southpaw (track #2) because any love for lefties like me still makes me smile. Also, it’s quite a good song, so it’s got that going for it as well.
Often when I’m listening to albums for review I find myself trying to figure out which songs might be picked to go to radio as singles with a chance to chart and make their way up the list. But, with Kip Moore and Wild World, I decided not to. That’s not what I’m looking for from a Kip Moore album, and I don’t think it’s what his biggest fans care about either.
In an Instagram post last August, Kip Moore posted a screenshot of a piece of our review of his Boots & Hearts set. The snippet read, “Over the years, Moore’s chart success hasn’t matched the ticket sales, streaming numbers, and dedication of his fans. So when we saw thousands of fans loving every minute of the show, we knew it was real. And when we saw and heard them singing along, we knew that it was because they’ve put the time and energy and effort into listening to them enough to know them and love them.”
Moore’s captioned his post with this, “It’s always great to have a hit…really great..but nothing better than a fan base that dives into the body of work and charges with you night after night. Cheers to all the slowhearts.” We have a feeling that those fans are going to dive into Wild World the same way and be just as ready to sing along to the new music as they are their old favourites when Kip Moore gets back on stage again.
For 48 minutes, across 13 songs (12 co-written by Moore), Wild World is the kind of listen that will make you want to pour a drink and party, and also sit and think about the hard parts of your life. It’s a country record with a rough edge that makes it his, and that doesn’t need to be measured by chart success (although it does deserve some recognition).
If you’ve ever loved a Kip Moore album before, or if you’re looking for a new record to dive into this weekend because you’re in search of new music – hit play on the Wild World stream, turn up the volume, and enjoy!
Kip Moore, Wild World Tracklist
1. Janie Blu 2. Southpaw 3. Fire And Flame 4. Wild World 5. Red White Blue Jean American Dream 6. She’s Mine 7. Hey Old Lover 8. Grow On You 9. More Than Enough 10. Sweet Virginia 11. South 12. Crazy For You Tonight 13. Payin’ Hard
MacKenzie Porter‘s path has been different than most country music stars, but after the results of 2019, it’s impossible to argue that it isn’t working for her.
But before we get too deep into this year, we have to take a look back to late-2018 when Porter started the movement that got her to where she sits right now.
After successful acting turns on both Travelers and Hell On Wheels, the Alberta native set her sights back on music and at the end of November 2018, she released About You and Drive Thru, her first new music since 2016 when she appeared on Chris Lane’s Circles and her first single since 2015’s Rodeo. We talked to her about the release of those songs and her transition back into country music, and while there’s no predicting exactly what would come in the next year, she was most definitely excited.
What she did know was that with her team at Big Loud, she had put together a plan to release new music, reintroduce MacKenzie Porter to country music listeners, and go from there.
And that brought us to 2019.
About You and Drive Thru started gaining traction, everything was going according to plan, and they moved forward to the next step.
On March 22, 2019, MacKenzie Porter released five new songs: These Days, Cry Baby, If It Ain’t Broke, One More Whiskey Song, and 24/7/365.
Fans started discovering the new songs, MacKenzie started getting ready for her summer, About You kept moving forward, and then, the first HUGE moment of 2019.
In late-May, MacKenzie Porter went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Canadian Country Music Airplay Charts for the very first time with About You. It’s a significant moment in any artist’s career to get to the top of the chart and doubly significant when they get there for the first time. And you can add another layer to that because as a Canadian female artist, getting to the peak of the country music chart mountain does not happen very often.
For a lot of artists, that would be enough to make it a career year no matter what else happened. For MacKenzie Porter, the year wasn’t even half over, and there was still a lot left to do.
At the end of June, MacKenzie played in Calgary at Cowboys Dance Hall’s 23rd birthday party, in July she made the trip to PEI to play the Cavendish Beach Music Festival, and in August she played at the Big Valley Jamboree and then the Boots & Hearts Music Festival, where we saw her on the Front Porch Stage.
On Sunday afternoon, we watched as Porter took the stage with her band and ripped through a set of her new material and a couple of fun covers as people sang along with the songs they knew and danced at the tent-covered stage. It was only eight songs, but we loved it and it was our first chance since Boots & Hearts 2013 to see her sing and play the fiddle and entertain a crowd.
On that stage, MacKenzie Porter was energetic and excited. She was smooth and fun. She got a group of country music fans to move back and forth between her own songs and smashes including Alanis Morrisette’s Hand In My Pocket and Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me). It was the performance we were hoping for (though I did wish for a couple of the older songs) and a sign of what we hope we’ll see more of in the future.
A few weeks later, MacKenzie hit the road with Dean Brody and Dallas Smith on the Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone run of shows. As a special guest (along with Chad Brownlee), she joined the show in the middle of the headlining set to sing for the country music fans on 30 Canadian tour stops.
We were at the Toronto show at the Budweiser Stage on September 21, and got to see MacKenzie duet with Dean Brody on Bounty, and then duet later in the show with Dallas Smith on One Drink Ago. She also sang These Days, giving the crowds a little something of her own in the middle of an all-star show.
She came out one more time at the end of the night to sing Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink Alone, the song she was featured on with Brody and Smith and that helped give the tour its name. It was a great end to the show, a great way to give the fans in attendance one more chance to see and hear her. And like we said before, you can’t argue with results.
In the three months since we saw MacKenzie Porter on stage in Toronto, her momentum hasn’t really slowed down at all. The tour continued with more shows until the end of October. She found herself added to big streaming playlists. She was announced as part of Chris Lane’s upcoming winter 2020 Big Big Plans Tour where she’ll play 19 dates in January and February.
And then, on Monday, December 16, 2019, MacKenzie Porter got all the way to the top again when These Days took over the #1 spot on the Mediabase Canada and Billboard Canada Country Airplay charts!
Everything we said earlier about getting to #1 being significant holds true here. And just like earlier, we’ll add another layer because for the first time since Shania Twain did it more than 20 years ago, MacKenzie Porter went to the top with back-to-back singles as a Canadian female country artist.
It’s a big accomplishment and a big deal, and she knows it. In a press release, MacKenzie said, “I am unbelievably grateful that Canadian country radio has embraced my music in such a massive way. It doesn’t even feel real to have my name in the same sentence as Shania Twain! Thank you to everyone who took a chance on me – from my incredible team to every fan who has requested a song and every radio programmer that’s played it – I love every single one of you. Canadian country radio you have completely rocked my world!”
With the holidays just around the corner, we hope that this news is a big part of MacKenzie’s celebrations with friends and family. She’s earned it.
And as 2019 winds down, we find ourselves in mostly the same spot as we did at the end of 2018. We know a little bit about MacKenzie Porter’s plans for the new year (touring with Chris Lane, performing at no fewer than six festivals this summer), but there’s a lot we don’t know. Will there be new music and a new single, or her own tour? We can’t wait to find out.
Congratulations to MacKenzie Porter and her team on a HUGE 2019. It looks like you’ve found the start of something special.
[easy-social-share counters=0 style="icon" url="https://thereviewsarein.com/2019/12/17/mackenzie-porter-caps-huge-2019-with-these-days-hitting-1/" text="MacKenzie Porter Caps Huge 2019 with These Days Hitting #1
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Levi Hummon’s trip to Boots and Hearts 2019 wasn’t his first time in Canada to play, but it was the first time on a festival stage north of the border with his full band.
Hummon hit the Front Porch Stage on Friday and took a few minutes to hang out with us to talk about his music, writing songs, and playing on big stages with major country music stars. Even during our conversation, it was clear the Levi was excited to be at Boots and Hearts and to be making a living playing music.
Levi Hummon’s country music education started early and continues to this day because he wants it to. When he was growing up, the house was filled with lyrics and melodies as his father, Marcus Hummon (Bless The Broken Road, Cowboy Take Me Away, Born To Fly) and his colleagues would write together. He told us that even when he wasn’t thinking about it, he was soaking it in and learning about lyrics and melodies and how to write a chorus and a verse. He has no doubt that the ever-present creativity rubbed off on him.
The subject of genres came up too, with Levi being a big fan of a lot more than just country. He’s fond of saying, people’s playlists go “from Dolly Parton to Tupac” now with more room for merging and appreciation for a wider variety of music. We’d read about him loving rock and punk like The Clash, Ramones, The White Stripes, and he told us that he still does, but that every time he picked up his guitar to write a song, it ended up being country. “I think it’s just in my DNA, in my blood,” he says.
His learning these days is coming on the road. We talked about touring and Levi pointed to the 27 dates he played as an opening act for Hunter Hayes, as well as artists like Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw. Levi gave a lot of credit to all of the country stars that he’s had the chance to be on the road with but pointed to Hayes specifically. “Hunter Hayes just sets you up to win. His fans are hungry for music [and] they want to meet new artists.”
We asked as well about watching those big-name acts and learning from what they do as performers. Levi pointed to Faster Horses (the giant country music festival in Michigan) and getting to watch Keith Urban perform from side stage. He said, “I feel like I went to school and actually just retained all the information and just learned everything. And it truly is like a learning experience every time you go out.”
On stage, Hummon brought things we didn’t see when he was in a CMA Songwriter Series stop in Toronto where we first saw him. Having the full band plugged in and backing him up made for a complete show and offered a look at who he is as a performer, not just a singer and songwriter. The enthusiasm that we heard in his voice during our interview before the set was easy to see in the way he moved around the stage and sang for the Boots and Hearts crowd. And it was great to see him connecting with these fans, across the border and a long way from home.
During our conversation we also asked Levi about his Canadian connection, having worked with Kira Isabella on their duet, We Should Be Together. He told us that it was cool because he’s always excited to do international projects, whether it’s touring or recording. He told us that working with Kira was an instant yes after listening to the song and that he’s super happy that he did it. He also gave love to Canadian country artists, calling the genre not only country-wide but world-wide, naming Kira along with Meghan Patrick and James Barker Band as artists he’s a fan of.
Canadian fans showed Levi Hummon some love during his set on Friday at Boots and Hearts 2019. And with plans for new music in the near future and new tour dates coming to his schedule, they should get the chance to see him before long and do it all over again.
Click to view larger photos and/or start slideshow
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