As the lights went down over Boots & Hearts 2017 and it became clear that it was time for Luke Bryan to take the stage, there was a buzz and feeling of electricity flowing through thousands of country music fans in the Oro-Medonte field. And the moment that the country hit maker came out was perhaps the loudest we had heard of the festival... to that point.
In 2014, Luke Bryan headlined Saturday night at Boots & Hearts and owned the crowd from start to finish. In 2017, Bryan got the Sunday night slot - and owned the tens of thousands in attendance all over again. From Move to start the set, to Country Girl (Shake It For Me) at the end, the Georgia native might as well have been a homegrown Canadian star the way he connected with his northern fans. His playful and charming banter created the kind of engagement that live audiences feed off of, and the collection of hits and covers that Bryan and the band pumped out gave the B&H faithful a chance and reason to sing and dance and cheer.
Some of the biggest cheers (and laughs) came when a fan tossed their phone up on stage for Bryan to Google some lyrics... but instead of that he rolled through her messages and called a friend. Now, we don't know if he actually called Stacey, and then asked what she was wearing. But there's a chance he did, and in the moment, there was a lot of love in the crowd for the bit.
Sunday night was the end to a long (but not long enough?) four days of music at Boots & Hearts. But, through rain storms, evacuations, sunshine and hangovers - the crowd was still in a party mood for Luke Bryan on the main stage. They had the staying power to sing along as loud as they could, dance like no one was watching, and party like it was Saturday night part two. It was the purest example of what Boots & Hearts has been since year one at Mosport. It was loud, fun, happy, excited, and a little slice of heaven for country music fans.
Note: As we hung out by the barn during Luke's set, we witnessed a sweet surprise proposal... and she said yes. It was a nice little moment that went unnoticed by many, but will never be forgotten by the happy couple.
Luke Bryan has now headlined Boots & Hearts years three and six... so if we look forward on that three year schedule, maybe we'll see Luke Bryan, playing the hits we know now, and whatever new music he's released and taken to the top of the charts by then. And judging by the reaction he got on Sunday, August 13, 2017 at Boots & Hearts, Luke Bryan would be welcomed back with open arms in 2020.
He turned his hat around, he rolled his hips, he shook his ass... he was exciting, funny, charming, maybe a little buzzed, and he did his damnedest to give everyone in attendance the good time they were hoping for.
And if you took a survey, we're pretty sure you'd find that Luke Bryan did just that at Boots & Hearts 2017.
Luke Bryan, Boots & Hearts 2017 Setlist
🎣 Move
🎣 That's My Kinda Night
🎣 Kick The Dust Up
🎣 Rain Is A Good Thing
🎣 This Is How We Roll
🎣 Crash My Party
🎣 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
🎣 I See You
🎣 Fast
🎣 Drunk On You
🎣 Roller Coaster
🎣 All My Friends Say
🎣 Country Man
🎣 Play It Again
🎣 Mountain Music(Alabama)
🎣 Sweet Caroline(Neil Diamond)
🎣 My House(Flo Rida)
🎣 Uptown Funk(Bruno Mars)
🎣 Strip It Down
🎣 Drink A Beer
🎣 Huntin', Fishin' And Lovin' Every Day
🎣 I Don't Want This Night To End
🎣 Country Girl (Shake It For Me)
🎣 Paradise City, band outro (Guns & Roses)
