With blue skies and sunshine, the first official full day of Boots and Hearts 2024 was a crowd pleaser. The morning was filled with the buzz of cars and RV’s pulling into the campgrounds, while the sound of artists going through soundcheck on the main stage could be heard from across the grounds. Excitement was building in the air and everyone was anticipating the day’s festivities.
Once the entertainment area gates opened in the early afternoon, festival goers flooded the field and began trickling towards all sides of the field. Die-hard fans of the night’s headliner, Cody Johnson, made their way towards the main stage in order to stand right behind the barricades. Others spread out to the variety of vendors and their pop-up experiences, food trucks, midway rides and the Front Porch Stage to see Taylor-Rae and Buck Twenty perform.
One artist that many attendees were particularly excited to see later on in the night at the main stage was Megan Moroney. One look around the entertainment area was all you needed to see countless hair bows, pastel dresses and metallic cowboy boots. Megan surprised her fans by making a surprise appearance early in the afternoon at the Coors Rooftop Stage, later appearing in the SiriusXM Barn with Buzz Brainard for VIP ticket holders.
The first artist to open the festival’s main stage was Nate Haller. The Waterloo-born singer drew a crowd of his own and pumped up the audience with original favourites including, “Lighting In A Bottle,” “Budweiser” and his latest single, “Race To The Bottom.” Nate also sang a Miley Cyrus cover that he regularly performs at his show, “The Climb.” His bubbly and energetic personality shone through his set and it was the perfect tone to set for the remainder of the weekend. 
For the rest of the afternoon, fans saw artists Kalsey Kulyk and Redferrin take the Front Porch Stage, while Jess Moskaluke stunned on the main stage. As the evening approached, Megan Moroney made her third appearance of the day on the main stage. In a stunning gold sparkly layered mini dress, she delighted her fans with an hour-long performance filled with songs from her first album, Lucky, and her new sophomore album, Am I Okay? The audience sang their hearts out to an array of heartbreak, self-appreciation and love songs including “Tennessee Orange,” “Indifferent,” “Girl in the Mirror,” and “No Caller ID.” It was safe to say that Megan blew her fans away during her Boots and Hearts debut.
Following her performance, Chayce Beckham performed the final set on the Front Porch Stage for the night. The energy was high and fans sang along to songs from his latest album, Bad For Me, including his hit single “23.”
Back on the main stage, Brothers Obsorne put on an exciting performance as the sun began to set on the first night of the festival. Boots were stomping along to their song, “It Ain’t My Fault,” and hands were high in the air clapping on beat. However, the night was just beginning as Cody Johnson was next on deck to headline.
The long area of grass between the main stage and pathway was no longer visible as thousands of fans packed in to see Cody’s show-stopping performance. In his signature cowboy hat, Cody came out on stage ready to party to his traditional-sounding country music. Throughout the show, he thanked Canadians for their support throughout his career and announced that he had found out earlier in the day that his song, “Dirt Cheap,” had received a Gold certification in Canada, while another one of his songs, “The Painter,” had received a Platinum certification in Canada. He went on to perform both of these songs, as well as fan favourites including “‘Til You Can’t,” “People In The Back” and “Leather.”
With the weekend already halfway through, Boots and Hearts was rocking. Festival-goers partied through the night at the Monster Energy Late Night Dance Party and looked forward to another two days of spectacular performances!
