The largest country music festival in the country, and the second largest in North America, deserves a lineup that represents the immense local talent in Canada. This year, there are 14 Canadian artists in the main festival lineup.
Here is every country artist from the Great White North you can catch over the four-day festival.
Thursday August 8:
Shantaia: This Spiritwood, Saskatchewan-born artist took home the winning title of the 2023 Emerging Artist Showcase at Boots and Hearts. This year, Shantaia returns to the festival as part of her grand prize, performing before Lonestar and Midland. This past June, she released her single, “What I Wouldn’t Do,” with Universal Music Canada. Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, Shantaia has over 22,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and opened the main stage at the 2024 Cavendish Beach Music Festival.
Friday August 9:
Taylor-Rae: After coming runner-up in the 2022 Emerging Artists Showcase to Owen Riegling, Taylor-Rae is ready to shine and take the Boots and Hearts stage! While she has been releasing music since 2018, her most recent single, “Sendin’ Myself to Church,” was released this July. Taylor-Rae has previously worked with household names in country music, including Carly Pearce, who is credited as one of the writers for her 2021 single, “Are You Still Up.”
Buck Twenty: This Canadian country duo has been making music together since 2015, but over the past few years they have begun to truly soar. In 2021, they received four CMAOntario Awards nominations, including Duo or Group of the Year. They also received a spot on the Top 40 Billboard in 2020 for their single, “All I Can Do.” This past June, they released their EP, From A to B, and are currently averaging over 102 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify!
Kalsey Kulyk: Over the past few years, Kalsey has been making an impressive impact on the country music industry. In August 2020, she released her single, “Who I Was,” which soon after became her very first Billboard Canada Country charting song. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kalsey and her husband, singer Eric Ethridge, took on a new lifestyle and embarked on a cross-country journey. After building a camper van, the couple began their “Love on the Road” tour, bringing a portable concert to cities and towns across Canada. Most recently, Kalsey released her debut album, Outlaw Poetry, in February 2024 and is set to take the stage at Boots.
Nate Haller: Having started his career as a session player, Nate is no stranger to the country music business. After his single, “Lightning In A Bottle,” shot up on the Top 10 at Canadian radio, his success has been unstoppable. In November 2022, Nate released his debut album, Party In The Back, which earned him a CMA 2023 CMAOntario Award for Album of the Year. He was also selected as one of the few participants in the 2023/2024 Allan Slaight JUNOs Master Class and has been named an iHeart Radio Future Star. Nate released his latest single, “Drive,” this past June.
Jess Moskaluke: Jess Moskaluke has been on top of the female Canadian country music scene for quite some time. In 2014, Jess released her debut album, Light Up the Night, which included her single, “Cheap Wine and Cigarettes.” The song’s popularity skyrocketed and Jess became the first Canadian female country singer to hit Canadian Gold single status since Shania Twain’s “Party for Two” in 2004, later going on to Canadian Platinum single status. She has received a number of accolades, including the Country Album of the Year award at the 2017 JUNOs, the 2018 Album of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards and an Artist of the Year nomination for the 2024 Women In Music Canada Honours. Jess released her latest EP, Heartbreaker, in September 2023.
Saturday August 10:
Elyse Saunders: Elyse has had an abundance of success over the past few years, including her win at the 2024 CMAOntario Awards, taking home Female Artist of the Year. Her 2024 single, “Never Have I Ever,” charted at spot 28 on Canada’s Country Mediabase and even reached number six on Australia’s National Radio Airplay Charts. Elyse was named Rogers Radio’s One To Watch and currently has over four million streams across listening platforms.
Texas King: This London, Ontario-based rock band has been together since 2013, having toured all across North America. The band released their debut album, Circles, in October 2017 for which their lead single, “Boomerang,” picked up a large amount of attention. Since then, the band has continued their love for the stage and has built a loyal following across the nation. In July 2023, Texas King released their latest EP, Capsize.
Alee: Since 2017, Alee has been a rising name in Canadian country music. Following the release of her debut full-length album, Bad Habits, in April 2017, the artist was nominated for Female Artist of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards. Her single, “Moonshine,” also reached CMT’s Top 20 video in the same year. In April 2024, Alee released her latest album, Love, Again.
Hunter Brothers: The Hunter Brothers, both a Canadian country band and real life group of brothers, have been releasing music since 2016. Their debut single “El Dorado” reached number 24 on the Billboard Canada Country charts one month after its release. The band’s debut album, Getaway, was released in March 2017 and includes familiar tracks such as “Those Were the Nights” and “Born and Raised.” Their 2018 single, “Lost,” was the Hunter Brothers’ first number one single at Canadian Country Radio, later becoming Canadian certified Gold. The band has released two singles so far this year, “Train (Stations Editions),” and “Golden Rules.”
Sunday August 11:
Brian John Harwood: Raised in Innisfil, Ontario, not far from the Boots and Hearts festival grounds itself, Brian was originally a member of the band, Kansas Stone. After also becoming a solo artist in 2019, he began releasing singles including, “Growing Old,” “All That I Was Missing” and “Make You Mine.” Over the years, Brian has performed with household country music names including Dallas Smith and Brett Kissel. This past June, the artist released his latest single, “Dreamin”.
Dayna Reid: In 2022, Dayna broke out onto the country music scene with her debut EP Back To The Trailer. In the same year, her single “She’s Me” obtained a Stingray Radio’s Trending Track title and Dayna was named iHeart Radio’s Future Star. In July, she released her latest single, “Still Believe In Love.”
Madeline Merlo: Raised in British Columbia, Madeline rose to fame over YouTube and signed her first record deal at the age of 18. In 2015, she was awarded the Rising Star Award from the Canadian Country Music Awards. She released her debut album, Free Soul, in April 2016 and went on to win the season two premiere of NBC’s television series Songland, for which Lady A recorded and released her original song, “Champagne Night.” In September 2023, Madeline released her single “Tim + Faith”, which pays respect to the marriage of country music powerhouses, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Her latest single, “Makeup,” was released in January 2024.
Emerson Drive: This Canadian band has been a popular name in North American country music since 2001 after their debut singles, “I Should Be Sleeping” and “Fall Into Me” reached the Top five on the Billboard Country chart. In 2007 their single “Moments” produced their first number one single on the US Billboard chart, with the band later releasing their album Decade of Drive (10 Years of Hits) in 2011. As the band’s success continued, Emerson Drive received their first Canadian Gold single in 2013 with their song, “She’s My Kind of Crazy,” which later reached Canadian Platinum status in 2020. In that same year, the band released an EP, Tilt-a-Whirl, and have since released two singles, “Every Girl That Got Away” (2022) and “Break Us” (2023).
Whether you’re attending the entire festival weekend, or just a single day, there’s a ton of Canadian talent to watch on stage. Check out the official Boots and Hearts schedule to find out what time you can catch your favourite Canadian-born artists.
