Canadian country favourite Tim Hicks took over the Boots and Hearts 2019 main stage on Sunday to the delight of thousands of fans who have been following his career for years.
The homegrown star and festival veteran was the featured Canadian artist on the lineup, and he made the most of it. From start to finish, Tim was energetic, entertaining, and put on the kind of show that we and his fans have come to love and expect over the course of his career.
Hicks and the band played through a setlist that included throwbacks to his first album, Throw Down and his first number-one single, What A Song Should Do. The assembled audience was ready for all of it, singing along to the songs they knew and dancing when the beat moved their feet. They cheered when he came out onto the stage. They cheered at the end of songs. They cheered at the end of the set. Honestly, they cheered every chance they got.
As a finalist in the first Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase in 2012, Tim Hicks has a long and successful relationship with Boots and Hearts. Longtime fans have seen him rise and grow as an artist. He has been on stage in five of the eight years that the festival has been welcomed by the crowd every time.
This year the cheers were as loud as they've ever been. The singing was the loudest it has ever been. This was a big show.
Across Canada, Tim Hicks has a great connection with his fans. They wear his hats and t-shirts, they request his songs on country radio. They buy his new albums. They buy concert tickets to see him in city after city after city. And at Boots and Hearts, we saw the culmination of all of that when he played his set. At ten songs long it was enough to get into a groove and enjoy themselves. But we promise you this, that crowd would have been very happy if the set had been twice as long.
New Tattoo started the set and it was a great choice. The energy got up and set the bar for the rest of the show. From there Hicks brought the thunder, things got loud, he raised a little hell and had a good time, and he even showed some love to a Greasy John Deere Cap.
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When it came time for Stronger Beer though, things reached a new level. There aren't many songs that connect with Canadian country fans the way that Tim Hicks does with Stronger Beer. It's a sing-along from the first word to the last. It's a party in and of itself. It's a moment as much as it is music. We've seen Tim perform the song who knows how many times now in venues big and small. And every time it's great.
It was great again on Sunday!
At Canadian country festivals like Boots and Hearts, it's easy to concentrate on the big-name American acts that come up to play. This weekend Tim Hicks reminded everyone that we've got talent of our own that can play to a big crowd too. We're glad we were there to see it. We have a feeling that Tim Hicks will be back on the Boots and Hearts main stage again. And when he is, we'll be there to see that too!
Tim Hicks Setlist, Boots and Hearts 2019
🍺 New Tattoo
🍺 Here Comes The Thunder
🍺 Loud
🍺 Hell Raisin' Good Time
🍺 My Baby
🍺 Greasy John Deere Hat
🍺 If The Beat's Alright
🍺 Stompin' Ground
🍺 Got A Feeling
🍺 Get By
🍺 Stronger Beer
🍺 What A Song Should Do
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