One of Canada's biggest country music festivals is betting fans will be ready and able to gather again in 10 months.
The Boots and Hearts Music Festival in Burl’s Creek, Ontario – about 90 minutes north of Toronto – revealed its 2021 lineup on Sunday night via Twitter.
Headliners include Eric Church, Brothers Osborne, Sam Hunt, Dustin Lynch, Dan + Shay, Chris Lane and Jon Pardi.
Among the homegrown talent set to take the stage are Meghan Patrick, Steven Lee Olsen and Kalsey Kulyk.
Boots and Hearts is scheduled to celebrate its 10th anniversary from Aug. 5 to 8, 2021. Many of the acts were scheduled to perform at this year’s festival, which was scrapped due to COVID-19.
Single-day passes ($90 to $270) and weekend passes ($270 to $600) go on sale Thursday.
Boots and Hearts vice-president Todd Jenereaux acknowledged there remains plenty of uncertainty about the future of large gatherings.
"We will stay informed on all developments, modify our plans, and take all possible steps toward our goal to host the Festival again for our fans," he said, in a release. Full refunds will be available if there are “uncontrollable circumstances that cause the 2021 event to be canceled.”
Your 2021 lineup celebrating 10 years of #BootsLife pic.twitter.com/HDILSbVwM8
— Boots and Hearts (@BootsandHearts) September 28, 2020
Last month, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino expressed optimism there could be festivals as early as next summer.
“Our expectations for a robust outdoor summer season in 2021 are … reinforced by the two-thirds of fans keeping their tickets for canceled festivals so they can go to next year’s show,” he told investors, “along with strong early ticket sales for festivals in the UK next summer.”
But Marc Geiger, co-founder of Lollapalooza, said in July he does not expect festivals to be back to normal until late 2021 or “more likely” 2022.
Earlier in the pandemic, U.S. bioethicist Zeke Emanuel predicted a late 2021 comeback for big music events. “Realistically we’re talking fall 2021 at the earliest,” he told The New York Times.
This article has been updated since it was first published.