Boots and Hearts Music Festival has revealed Bailey Zimmerman, Sam Hunt and HARDY as the three headliners for the 2025 edition. The three American country stars take to the stage at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte, Ontario, on, respectively, Friday, Aug. 8, Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10.
In announcing the Boots and Hearts headliners and first round of performers, Brooke Dunford, Director of Booking at festival producers Republic Live, noted that the three headliners “have been with us from the very start of their careers. It’s a genuine Boots and Hearts love story, shared with our Canadian fans.”
HARDY first performed on the Boots and Hearts stage in 2019, Sam Hunt made his Canadian debut on the side stage in 2014 and fast-rising star Bailey Zimmerman played in 2023. Direct support will be provided by three more U.S. stars, Tyler Hubbard (Aug. 8), Chase Rice (Aug. 9) and, in his Canadian festival debut, Koe Wetzel (Aug. 10).
The Boots and Hearts Music Festival is the flagship event for Canadian live entertainment company Republic Live. Since launching in 2011, Republic Live has been recognized by the Academy of Country Music for Festival of the Year for Boots and Hearts, and the event was named Country Festival of the Year at the 2024 CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) Awards, the seventh time it has received this honour.
This year, Republic Live also started two ambitious new endeavours, launching a new pop-punk focused festival, All Your Friends Fest, and a Nashville-based management wing, RLive, with Tyler Joe Miller as the first client.
Since premiering in 2012, the Boots and Hearts Music Festival has featured such superstars as Shania Twain, Morgan Wallen, Alan Jackson, Nickelback, Florida Georgia Line, Carrie Underwood and many more. The 2024 edition was headlined by hitmakers Cody Johnson, Thomas Rhett and Jason Aldean,while the 2023 festival, headed by Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Nickelback, attracted a record 40,000 concertgoers.
The opening night of Boots and Hearts (Aug. 7 for 2025) traditionally focuses upon the Emerging Artist Showcase. This is now recognized as a major platform for launching Canadian country artists, having boosted the careers of homegrown stars Josh Ross and Owen Riegling. The impact of this event helped place Republic Live's Brooke Dunford on Billboard Canada's Power Players list earlier this year.
Weekend passes for the 2025 edition of Boots and Hearts are available for pre-sale on Wednesday, October 30 at 10 a.m. ET with public on sale on Friday, November 1 at 10 a.m. ET at bootsandhearts.com.
The full festival lineup will be announced at the top of the new year.
Aya NakamuraMarion Gomez/Billboard France