Brooke Dunford will tell you she’s a fan first.
You can hear it in her voice when she talks about the musicians booked to perform at the 2024 edition of Boots and Hearts, happening this weekend at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte, just north of Barrie.
“I’m so excited,” she said in an interview Thursday, as the Kick-Off Party carried on at the Front Porch Stage. “(It’s) Emerson Drive’s last show, so (we’re) celebrating all of their achievements in Canadian music ... Cody Johnston has never been to Ontario, so that’s a big driver for us, because it’s a big entertainer that’s never been here.”
Being a fan was her first introduction to the festival. She’s been attending Boots and Hearts since day one, camping in the fields and dancing in the crowd.
In 2016, it was time to join the family business. Since then, she’s grown to become one of the faces of Boots and Hearts, which remains one of the largest country music festivals in North America.
Today, she’s director of booking and business development for Republic Live, the company owned by her father, Stan, who has been the talent buyer for the festival. Her mother, Eva, handles merchandise and creative.
It takes a village to create the city that pops up in the middle of Oro-Medonte each August and is comprised of people who want to make sure the concertgoers get their money’s worth, year after year, she explained.
“You just want to deliver the best experience for the fans,” Dunford said. “(There’s) always new sponsors and new activations that allow for fans to do fun things during the day ... There’s so much live action, whether it's entertainment or sport.”
Part of that experience is making sure they arrive in an orderly fashion and stay safe throughout the weekend. Recently, Todd Jenereaux, executive vice-president of Burl's Creek Event Grounds, Republic Live and Boots and Hearts Limited Partnership, walked Oro-Medonte council through the improvements to festival logistics after a series of hiccups last year.
Early reviews from around the site Thursday seemed to showcase their success.
One of the bigger issues last year was the influx of day ticket holders, Dunford said, owing to the popularity of Nickelback’s headlining slot on the Friday of the weekend. With fewer full weekend campers, that meant the festival grounds couldn’t utilize their full 600-acre potential to ensure guests were able to disperse easily and efficiently.
While the percentage of day tickets sold remains high, there are more weekend campers than there were last year, which Dunford owes to a purer country music experience in the acts performing this year. As well, a dedicated area has been set up for ride-sharing pick-ups and drop-offs to help streamline the process of people entering and leaving the park each day.
Dunford wouldn’t commit to a number of tickets either sold already for the weekend or what she expected that number to be.
“It’s only Thursday, so we see the tickets come in per day, but it’s still early,” she said. “Our venue is so large that we can accommodate for all the last-minute requests. Last year, with our rock day, we did sell out because it was day tickets. This year, the lineup is about more of the weekend, because it really is country from start to finish. It’s still strong for the weekend, but probably less per day because of the headliners being different every year.”
No matter how many bodies pour through the gates or populate the tents, keeping them safe is paramount. The park was evacuated in each of the last two years due to inclement weather, each with their learnings. The central location of the entertainment space helps in getting everyone quickly to shelter, she said as does the coordination between park security and local first-responders.
New this year is a security line that guests can text to receive information or contact security. As well, medical facilities on site have evolved into a de facto hospital, allowing medical emergencies to be treated on-site as quickly as possible.
Dunford lauded the security team at Burl’s Creek and the partnership with the Central Region OPP in keeping crowds safe, particularly considering the recent cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerns in Europe following a foiled terror attack. It’s not the kind of thing you want to plan for, she agreed, but plans are in place to ensure the safety of the festival goers and Oro-Medonte residents.
Dunford may already be running on adrenaline as the festival enters its second day, but her fandom still shines through. So does her belief in the music being the main draw for those who make the trek to Burl’s Creek each year, particularly the headliners.
But she knows not to sleep on the under-card.
“The headliners drive the meat and potatoes of this show. You get to see some of your favourite artists all in three days,” Dunford said. “The fun part is the fact you used to see Chris Stapleton and Sam Hunt on the small stage in the middle of the day, and now there is that discovery process where people will come in, in the afternoon just to see who is going to be that next big artist.”
This year, those artists could include Redferrin or Lauren Watkins, who are making their Boots debuts Friday and Saturday, respectively. Dunford also has her eye toward Boots and Hearts 2025, which will make 10 years since the festival made the move to Burl’s Creek.
Planning has already begun for next year, although Dunford couldn’t divulge which acts might be on the bill for what should be a festival for the books.
“What I can say is that it’s going to be a beautiful reunion of some of the fans’ absolute favourite artists that they’ve seen over the years,” she said. “Every year we just want to build it bigger and better and focus on some of country music’s best talent and I know we’re going to do that next year.”
Boots and Hearts continues through Sunday at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds. Saturday’s highlights include headliner Thomas Rhett and Matchbox Twenty in their only Canadian appearance of the summer.
