Out Of The Blue: Chad Brownlee at Boots & Hearts 2017

Chad Brownlee is a Canadian country music star, and on Saturday we got to catch up with him, and see him perform twice at Boots & Hearts 2017!

Country music fans had two chances to catch Chad Brownlee on Saturday as he took the main stage for his full set, and made an appearance on the SiriusXM stage earlier in the afternoon. And both times the fans in front of him sang and cheered for the B.C. boy as he showed them why he's a legit nominee for the 2017 Canadian Country Music Association Fans' Choice Award.

Early in the afternoon, before Brownlee started singing for the fans, we caught up with him for some photos and a chat. We learned that there's new music coming soon, with songs written about his own life (both positive and the opposite of that), and a new album, his fifth, planned for an early 2018 release. But before that, the CCMA Awards weekend is coming up in Saskatoon, and that's a big deal. We talked about the weekend, the parties, having the chance to catch up with industry friends that you may not have seen for the last year, and trying to find time for sleep - and trust us, all three of those things are important, but the last one often gets ignored.

On stage, Chad Brownlee looked anything but tired. Starting his main stage set with Hood Of My Car and rolling through 14 more after that, he owned the Boots & Hearts faithful. The singing was strong at every opportunity, we saw dancing from the front row to the back of the field, and the cheers rang loud for him.

This wasn't Chad's first Boots & Hearts experience, so he knew what to expect when he got out there. But we wanted to know about more shows this summer, so we asked for highlights, and he told us that Cavendish Beach Music Festival was great, and that it was awesome to be back at Nashville North and the Calgary Stampede for the fourth time. And if the crowds there were anything like the crowd he had on Saturday, we can see why they'd be highlights.

Note: We took Chad back a couple of years and asked him for the craziest thing that happened during pre-show floor hockey on the When The Lights Go Down Tour in 2015 ... and he told us a story about playing in Calgary and asking Bobby Wills for a one-time pass. Now, Chad told us that he was feeling pretty comfortable in his shot (which he should), and his ability to pick the corner on the small shinny net. However, his shot sailed on him and smashed an empty glass water pitcher. Now, we haven't talked to Bobby about this, so we don't want to blame his pass... but we'll let you make your own judgements on the reason.

We'll be seeing Chad Brownlee again soon as he takes the stage at the 2017 Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto on Saturday, August 26 with Leaving Thomas. If you're going to be near Toronto that weekend, we'd highly recommend that you come down to the fair for that.

We know, that at that show, just like Saturday's Boots & Hearts show, there will be singing along from the crowd when Brownlee plays his hits. When we brought that up he told us that it's still surreal, and while he may be more experienced more than he once was, it still gives him butterflies to be up on stage. And he says that if those butterflies ever stop showing up, it'll probably be time to hang 'em up.

It makes sense to hear him say it, but we're hoping that moment doesn't come any time soon. And based on the show that he put on Saturday, and the reaction from the fans, they're hoping to see a lot more of Chad Brownlee for a long time.